On Tue, 19 Jun 2018 10:08:32 +0100, Chris Hogg wrote:

On Tue, 19 Jun 2018 09:53:19 +0100, Scott
wrote:

I have a Bosch steam generator iron, which has just started emitting
dirty coloured liquid. I live in Scotland so descaling should not be
an issue. Can I assume it is faulty as I have not put anything in
other than water and the brown must have come from somewhere?

I have checked it was not picked up from other clothes. The unit is
quite old now. I don't want to risk collateral damage.

Is there a better option than Bosch?

Do you use tap water in your iron? Not living in a hard water area is
no guarantee that you won't get some sort of scaling, eventually, if
you use tap water in the iron. Anything that's dissolved in the water
will form a deposit as the water is evaporated in the iron. Some water
companies add lime to raise the pH of their water, to reduce the
corrosion of concrete pipes and tanks by acid waters. Some water
supplies contain iron in solution, either naturally or dissolved from
old and corroded iron pipes. Sometimes an indication of this is a
brown streak down the inside of the toilet or below the cold water tap
in the bath, if either of them leak/drip very slightly. Most people's
kettles, anywhere, will have a thin brown deposit on the inside,
regardless of where they live or the hardness of the water.

There's a Wiki on cleaning a steam iron using vinegar that you might
try https://www.wikihow.com/Clean-the-St...Its-Base-Plate

Thanks.

I did indeed use tap water, in the mistaken belief demineralised water
was not needed in Scotland. However, it is odd that the problem has
occurred so suddenly. Had it been water contamination, I would have
expected it to build up over time.

Thanks for the link. However, my understanding is that a generator
iron generates the steam in a separate vessel. Does the same
principle apply to cleaning? I assumed only steam was transferred
between the two so I am not sure how the dirty brown stuff got to the
iron. .