To remove burned on starch from the iron place a towel dampened with vinegar on the ironing board and sprinkle generously with table salt. Set iron on warm dry setting and run over a towel until the stain is removed.
Clean gunk off the surface of an iron by polishing gently with 0000 grade steel wool. Don't try this with a non-stick iron. If iron surface is dull, polish with Pearl Drops or other toothpaste.
To clean mineral deposits from a steam iron, fill it with a mixture of equal parts water and white vinegar. Allow it to steam for several minutes, disconnect, and let stand for an hour. Empty the reservoir, rinse well, and repeat if necessary.
By Ron from Cortez, CO
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Good afternoon. I iron and starch my clothes every day. Recently, I got burnt starch on my iron, and I cannot use it. Does anyone know how to get that burnt starch of the iron? Please Help. Thank you.
www.drycleanonwheels.com/
I found this website that might help you!
Their soultion is: Try heating equal parts of vinegar and salt in a small pan. Rub the solution on a cool iron, and wipe dry.
While my iron was cold I used an sos pad to clean it then I buffed it up, looks brand new.
Dip a wet cloth in baking soda and clean your iron then rinse it off with clean water.
the sos pad worked great..iron good as new. Thanks Joyce
at kitchen.robbiehaf.com/
Heat the iron to a nonsteam, medium heat before cleaning. Sprinkle a generous layer of table salt over a brown grocery bag (use one that has no writing on the top surface).
DON'T use sodium hypochlorite, undiluted, and ammomium hydrochloride.
Does anyone know how to remove a stain from clothing from iron residue? It is a white collar.
A Mr Clean Magic Eraser did the job for me!
To get spray starch or sizing off of an iron, set the iron for dry ironing (no steam) and maximum temperature. When good and hot, rub it firmly on a wet terry cloth towel. The gunk will steam off the iron and transfer to the towel.
My Black & Decker iron is spitting white stuff. I can't find the booklet that tells me how to fix this problem. Help.
By betes51
Where can I find more Rowenta paste to clean my iron? Or can I mix up my own paste? What are the ingredients?
By Angela Land
I use Bon Ami powder from the grocery store and have had good results.
Clean the Soleplate with Baking Soda
You can clean your iron without the cleaning kit. Combine a tablespoon of baking soda, a teaspoon of salt and enough white vinegar to make a paste. Apply it to a cool iron. Place an old bath towel over the ironing board. Turn the iron on the highest setting and rub it over the towel so the baking soda scrubs the soleplate of the iron as it heats up.
HI. I just use plain white toothpaste (not the gel or speciality brands). Heat up you iron. Squeeze about some toothpaste onto an old terry cloth towel (not a smooth one) and "iron". Use the steam function of the iron so the vents get cleaned. Hope this helps. W
The steam button of my steam iron is rather sticky and does not come up when I press it unless I pull it up myself.
How do I clean it?
John from Athens, Greece
Maybe a little alcohol on a Q-tip?
What is"Q-tip"?
Editor's Note Q-Tip is a brand name for a cotton swab. A cardboard stick with cotton on the ends.
I dropped my iron on the carpet which consisted of man made materials and the iron immediately melted the carpeting to the bottom of my iron. I took a paper towel with a generous amount of everyday rubbing alcohol and wiped the bottom and it peeled right off.
How can I clean spray on starch from the bottom of my ionic coated base plate - Lumina brand iron? The base is neither Teflon, nor stainless steel, but a cream colour.
By Judy B from Brighton Q
I have a film of junk on the bottom of my iron from an unknown source. Is there anyway to remove it or do I have to throw out my iron?
By Linda
I was temporarily ironing on the floor using an improvised DIY ironing board I made using a wooden chopping board with a tea-towel on it, which was absolutely fine. Then oops, the iron accidently decided to jump onto the carpet (as they do) and I had to rescue the iron and also the carpet from excess attachment issues as they started to melt into each other. 
The burn to the carpet fortunately wasn't that bad and I managed to trim it with nail scissors and brush it a bit and it's not that noticable. However my iron now has plastic residue from the burnt and melted bits of carpet which I have no idea how to clean off. I've checked all of the advice for cleaning irons I've found online so far all centres around cleaning it from either rust or calcium deposits, but doesn't have anything to do with melted plastic carpet residues.
Alternatively looking up people burning their carpet with an iron, everyone discusses how to deal with the carpet but never with the iron. Any advice out there how to clean my iron from the bits of melted plastic carpet on it now? Many thanks in advance.
I was ironing my uniform, when I adjusted the heat capacity of the iron. I set it on level 2, but the clothes had no reaction to its heat so I adjusted it again to level 4 and unfortunately it burned a part of the uniform. My concern is not the burned uniform, but the mess it got to the surface of the iron. It looks like plastic got burned into it, but it was actually cloth. How can I clean the surface of the iron without damaging it? Help me please.
By carms
Recently I have been getting bad rust, or whatever, deposits on the bottom of my iron. I've used distilled water all of my ironing career and never had this problem. It ruined my last iron and I bought another one.
The very first time I used the new iron, the deposits returned. I was able to clean most of it off this time. This should not happen with a brand new iron.
I am beginning to believe that the cause of this problem is not a water/dirt issue, but rather something in the Tide detergent, or Downy fabric softener I use. I know they will not want to hear this, but if I'm right, they have a problem. I am doing some tests by using other detergent brands to see what happens.
Thanks.
By Brenda
I accidentally ironed the sticky side of some fabric interfacing with my iron. It melted to the iron and left a mess. I have cleaned with salt, vinegar, steel wool, and Barkeepers Friend. Each of these removed the spot, the bottom was shiny and smooth. However, when I heat up the iron, then the sticky brown spot reappears. Is my iron ruined?
By Sarah
My iron has stopped steaming. Any suggestions to clean it?
By Sheila from Ontario
