How To Clean Your Iron

There are two ways I clean my iron and which method I use just depends on how bad the iron is.

This is how I cleaned it today.

First of all, it probably seems like common sense but make sure your iron is unplugged and cold.
My before photo looks pretty grotty and it had gotten to the stage where my fabric was sticking to my iron.

All you need to do is make a paste with baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) and water so it looks something like this.

Then with a damp cloth rub the paste onto your iron. The gunk comes off quite easily.

There was just one stubborn spot in the center of my iron so I spread on more of the paste and left it for about half an hour. When I came back to it it just needed another quick rub and all the sticky, grimy, gunky stuff came right off.

You'll find that the paste goes into the holes of the iron so wipe it down well with a clean damp cloth. Now add white vinegar and water in equal amounts to your iron and turn it on, setting it to steam. When the iron is nice and hot run it over a clean dry cloth so the steam cleans the holes. Once you're happy that the holes are clean turn off your iron empty the vinegar and water and refill with just water. Once again turn on and run it over your clean cloth. For the last time empty the water from your iron and refill ready for use.

As you can see from the before and after photo it's worth taking some time to clean your iron inside and out.

The second way I clean my iron and works like a dream is with aspirin. Yes you read it right I couldn't believe it would work when I read about it but I assure you it works like magic. I saw it somewhere on the net but can't remember where so I'm sorry I can't link back to it.

Here's how it works.

1. Turn on your iron.

2. Take an aspirin and hold it with a pair of tweezers. The last thing you need is burnt fingers.

3. Then with your iron still on rub the aspirin over the sticky parts and they come off like magic. You may need several depending on how bad your iron is but I tend to use this method mainly for small sticky areas.
 
4. Wipe your iron down with a clean damp cloth and you're done. Don't forget to turn your iron off when you've finished.

  

~ Maria ~