In your rental, you probably have an iron available for your guests to use. But whether it’s a traditional or central steam iron, it needs to be properly maintained to increase its lifespan. Indeed, to prevent the iron from leaving marks on laundry, from sticking or even from catching and hence damaging certain materials it needs to be descaled and its soleplate needs to be cleaned. Here are a few eco-friendly and low-budget tips for easily cleaning an iron.

Dressing and iron on a tableKarry Home Solutions

 

The war on limescale

In 80% of the cases, irons break down or don’t work well due to a limescale build-up which blocks the holes in the soleplate and by hindering the evacuation of steam, leaves unwanted marks on linen. The first line of prevention is to fill the iron with distilled water rather than tap water that is more or less calcified depending on the region.

If your iron is already scale encrusted, pour white vinegar into the tank. Plug in the iron to heat it up and set it to maximum steam to evaporate the vinegar. Once the process is complete, rinse the receptacle, pour in a glass of distilled water and drain the liquid by going through the steam cycle again. If necessary, to clean the holes on the soleplate, use cotton buds that have had the tip soaked in vinegar.

Iron with steam 

Cleaning the soleplate

The iron’s soleplate needs to be cleaned regularly so that it maintains a smooth glide. Fear not, cleaning it is quite straightforward and there are certain all-natural products that have proven themselves very effective.

• Soak a cloth with hydrogen peroxide or 70 ° alcohol, wipe it over the soleplate and then wipe clean with a damp cloth.

• Mix hot water with Marseille soap or baking soda, rub the soleplate down with a sponge soaked in the mixture and then wipe clean with a damp cloth.

• Imbibe a clay stone sponge, wipe it over the soleplate and then wipe clean with a damp cloth.

If the iron’s soleplate has yellowed, there is one relentless grandmother's trick: soak a rag with lemon juice to which you have added a few grains of fine salt. Clean the iron with it and then wipe clean with a damp cloth.

If the iron is catching on your clothes, the sole needs to be polished. For this, take fine grain metal emery cloth that you can find most notably in DIY stores and gently scrub the iron lengthwise.

In any case, never use the abrasive side of a sponge which would damage the soleplate and bear in mind that it is best to clean the soleplate when the iron is slightly warm.

 

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