I have an 18-yo variable temperature, steaming iron by Black and Decker.
It's been a workhorse!

Unfortunately for me, one of my daughter-units have taken to ironing almost
every stitch of clothing she owns, whether the material should be ironed or
not. As you might guess, one of the articles melted when she set the hot
iron atop it. I now have a section of the flat iron covered in gunk. I've
attempted to scrub it off. I tried heating the iron to it's highest
temperature setting and "ironing" a rough piece of towel. This netted a
positive; some came off with this but there's still a whole lot left.

I don't want to use sand paper but am quickly coming to that desperation.

Other ideas or suggestions?

Many thanks.

The Ranger

The Ranger wrote:
I have an 18-yo variable temperature, steaming iron by Black and Decker.
It's been a workhorse!

Unfortunately for me, one of my daughter-units have taken to ironing almost
every stitch of clothing she owns, whether the material should be ironed or
not. As you might guess, one of the articles melted when she set the hot
iron atop it. I now have a section of the flat iron covered in gunk. I've
attempted to scrub it off. I tried heating the iron to it's highest
temperature setting and "ironing" a rough piece of towel. This netted a
positive; some came off with this but there's still a whole lot left.

I don't want to use sand paper but am quickly coming to that desperation.

Other ideas or suggestions?

Many thanks.

The Ranger



Any fabric store (or store where they have a selection of sewing
supplies) will sell a product for cleaning the iron.

Mike Paulsen wrote in message
...
[snip iron sole with gunk]
Any fabric store (or store where they have a selection
of sewing supplies) will sell a product for cleaning the
iron.

I would have never thought of this... Thanks. I'll hit Joann's or Beverley's
today.

The Ranger

"The Ranger" wrote in message
ndwidth...
As you might guess, one of the articles melted when she set the hot iron
atop it. I now have a section of the flat iron covered in gunk. I've
attempted to scrub it off. I tried heating the iron to it's highest
temperature setting and "ironing" a rough piece of towel. This netted a
positive; some came off with this but there's still a whole lot left.

I don't want to use sand paper but am quickly coming to that desperation.

Other ideas or suggestions?


Anything abrasive will ruin the sole plate and it will never iron the same,
What you have most likely, is a melted plastic material well adhered to the
metal. Try, but think about a new iron once you give up.

The Ranger wrote:
I have an 18-yo variable temperature, steaming iron by Black and Decker.
It's been a workhorse!

Unfortunately for me, one of my daughter-units have taken to ironing almost
every stitch of clothing she owns, whether the material should be ironed or
not. As you might guess, one of the articles melted when she set the hot
iron atop it. I now have a section of the flat iron covered in gunk. I've
attempted to scrub it off. I tried heating the iron to it's highest
temperature setting and "ironing" a rough piece of towel. This netted a
positive; some came off with this but there's still a whole lot left.

I don't want to use sand paper but am quickly coming to that desperation.

Other ideas or suggestions?

Many thanks.

The Ranger



Stick a tiny piece of tape over each steam port and then scrub with very
fine steel wool. Don't want any fine particles of s.w. to get into the
holes and rust. Fine steel wool is used (or used to be) to polish
brass, so should not mar the plate to significant degree. All the brown
gunk I have ironed came off on wet towel.

"The Ranger" wrote in message
ndwidth...
I have an 18-yo variable temperature, steaming iron by Black and Decker.
It's been a workhorse!

Unfortunately for me, one of my daughter-units have taken to ironing
almost every stitch of clothing she owns, whether the material should be
ironed or not. As you might guess, one of the articles melted when she set
the hot iron atop it. I now have a section of the flat iron covered in
gunk. I've attempted to scrub it off. I tried heating the iron to it's
highest temperature setting and "ironing" a rough piece of towel. This
netted a positive; some came off with this but there's still a whole lot
left.

I don't want to use sand paper but am quickly coming to that desperation.

Other ideas or suggestions?

Many thanks.

The Ranger



Get yourself an iron cleaning kit:
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/prod...1&SKU=11291139

Works fast. Rowenta, the mfr, also makes irons, so the product can be
trusted not to hurt the iron. Removes all sorts of crap placed on the iron
by mindless chicks.

On Fri, 22 May 2009 09:56:24 -0700, "The Ranger"
wrote:

Mike Paulsen wrote in message
...
[snip iron sole with gunk]
Any fabric store (or store where they have a selection
of sewing supplies) will sell a product for cleaning the
iron.

I would have never thought of this... Thanks. I'll hit Joann's or Beverley's
today.

The Ranger

He and the others are probably all correct. This won't work with
teflon coated irons, etc. You can heat the iron and scrape the stuff
off with a putty knife. When I have had (smaller, thinner) stuff on
the bottom of my iron, I've sanded it with very fine sand paper, or
emory paper or that finer stuff (one could even start with medium or
fine and then go over it again with progressively finer) and it was a
matte finish after that, not sort of like mirror finish like it came
with, but it seemed to iron just fine.

On May 22, 11:00*am, "JoeSpareBedroom"
suggested:
Get yourself an iron cleaning kit:
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?
order_num=-1&SKU=11291139

Works fast. Rowenta, the mfr, also makes irons, so the product can be
trusted not to hurt the iron. Removes all sorts of crap placed on the iron
by mindless chicks.

Update:

I purchased the above-linked product from BB&B and gave it a try.
Aside from the acrid stench that found every nook and cranny in my
house while using the product, even with the windows open, the product
worked like a charm. Two thumbs way up. The iron is still performing
like the workhorse is always was (minus the annoying gunk) and I have
a product that I hope will have a shelf-life for eternity.

Thanks for the information.

The Ranger

"The Ranger" wrote in message
...
On May 22, 11:00 am, "JoeSpareBedroom"
suggested:
Get yourself an iron cleaning kit:
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?
order_num=-1&SKU=11291139

Works fast. Rowenta, the mfr, also makes irons, so the product can be
trusted not to hurt the iron. Removes all sorts of crap placed on the iron
by mindless chicks.

Update:

I purchased the above-linked product from BB&B and gave it a try.
Aside from the acrid stench that found every nook and cranny in my
house while using the product, even with the windows open, the product
worked like a charm. Two thumbs way up. The iron is still performing
like the workhorse is always was (minus the annoying gunk) and I have
a product that I hope will have a shelf-life for eternity.

Thanks for the information.

The Ranger

===============

The gunk can also come from detergent residue in the fabric. A former
girlfriend unit thought it was economical to overload the washing machine,
and use cold water & powdered detergent. Cold water in winter can be TOO
cold for detergent to work properly or rinse out thoroughly. (This is
mentioned in the user manuals for many washing machines). After laundering,
her clothing smelled pretty much like a box of Tide powder. The residue
wreaked havoc with the iron.