Cleaning an Iron

Have you ever had an experience when you were ironing your clothes and you felt that some dirt or patch has transferred on to them from the iron? Yes! it does happen. Over time, dirt and residue get accumulated in the ducts of the iron which are present on its sole. Just like any other home appliance, iron too needs a thorough cleaning. If you are wondering how to clean an iron?", given below are some easy methods to do the same.

Tips for Cleaning an Iron

Method # 1
For a quick steam iron cleaning, start with placing a cotton towel on an ironing board or any other plain surface. Next, sprinkle some coarse salt on this cotton towel. Spread the salt all over the towel. Now, take the iron and plug it in. Since you are cleaning a steam iron, you will need to turn off the steamer. Heat up the iron to the maximum at its highest setting. In the end, press the cotton towel with the iron. You will find that all the dirt and residue on the iron has attached itself to the salt, thus leaving the iron surface absolutely clean.

Method # 2
To carry on this method of cleaning an Iron, you would need baking soda, white vinegar and a pipe cleaner. Start with pouring out all water from the steam iron. Now, take three tablespoons of baking soda and make a paste with water. Apply this paste on the sole of the iron, including in and around the steam ducts. Use a cotton cloth for applying the paste by rubbing it on the bottom surface of the iron. Next, with a cloth soaked in plain water, clean the sole of the Iron.

After cleaning the surface, move on to clean the iron ducts. For this, take the pipe cleaner and move it back and forth inside the steam ducts. Once you are done, prepare a mixture of half water and half white vinegar and fill the iron with it. Plug in the iron and heat it to the highest. Keep it on for ten minutes and after this, unplug it and let it cool down. When the iron is cool, throw the vinegar mixture. Now, fill the iron with plain water and again plug in the iron to the highest for ten minutes. After ten minutes, unplug and let it cool. In the end, throw the water. Vinegar is an excellent steam iron cleaner.

Method # 3
Sometimes, some fabric may get stuck on the sole of the iron. To get rid of it, plug the iron and heat it to the maximum. Switch it off and immediately apply a cloth soaked in icy cold water to the iron sole. This sudden change in temperature will remove the fabric on its own. If it does not, make a paste of baking soda and water and clean the surface by rubbing it with a clean cloth and this paste.

Method # 4
If some wax-like substance has got tuck to the base of the iron, plug it in and heat to the highest. Next, take a newspaper and lay it on the ironing board. Gently press the newspaper with iron, the same way you do with clothes. The waxy residue will disappear with this method.

Method # 5
If the iron has some oily substance on its sole, for house cleaning an iron you would need a cloth and ammonia. Dip the cloth in ammonia water solution and rub the surface of the iron with it. After this, take a clean cloth soaked in plain water and rub the surface of the iron with it. You may give a rinse to clean the iron's sole of all residue.

Cleaning an iron, as you can see, is not at all difficult. It does not cost you anything, except for maybe a couple of minutes every month. So, keep your iron clean from now on to maintain it's longevity and to ensure that your clothes look good!