How to clean the iron at home?

An iron is an essential household appliance. Every woman uses it at least once a week, so its surface tends to get dirty quickly. Consider a few simple ways to clean the iron at home.

The iron was invented many years ago. People at all times wanted to look neat and stylish. Even if heavy heated cobblestones were used to smooth out wrinkles on clothes. The first similar instruments appeared in the 4th century in Ancient Greece.

In Russia, for several centuries before the advent of the electric iron, they used special devices: a rolling pin and a rubel. Only in the era of the Time of Troubles, the Poles and Lithuanians introduced into everyday use a device resembling today's iron.

An iron with burning coals inside appeared in houses by the middle of the 18th century. The most widely used heating iron, which the housewives put on an open fire or in a heated oven for heating, and then ironed their clothes with it.The iron with a heating element was invented only in 1882. To date, the principle of operation of the iron and its design have changed slightly, but they are no longer made of cast iron, but use a variety of modern and safe materials.

There are several types of irons, depending on the purpose of use and the material from which their ironing surface is made. Which material is contaminated determines which cleaning method to choose and which cleaning and detergents to use. Materials are of the following types:

• Household appliances with aluminum or stainless steel soleplate rather outdated, but they can still be found in some houses. Their ironing surface is more prone to the formation of soot. You can clean it with any means at hand, a fresh stain can even be gently scraped with a knife. This is not scary on a metal surface, there will not be a trace on it.

• The most popular steam iron among housewives is an iron that has Teflon soleplate with non-stick coating. It is easy to use and smoothes the fabric well. But such a sole needs regular care with soft or liquid products (salt and abrasive cleaners are not suitable for this type of surface).

• Irons with ceramic coating more whimsical in care. Their surface is prone to the appearance of small cracks and scratches over time, which make it difficult to iron clothes and can even ruin them.Microwave or ceramic cleaners are also great for cleaning this type of electrical appliance.

• Modern irons are equipped with a special water tank., which turns into steam under the influence of high temperature. With a strong stream of hot air, the clothes are smoothed much faster, but in this case, clean drinking or distilled water should be poured into the iron. The surface with holes requires attention and regular care.
• A separate type of iron is a steamer. Usually it can be found in tailors or laundries, but now it is increasingly being bought for home use. It is more convenient and easier to use and maintain than an iron. Particular attention should be paid to the quality of water, which is poured into a special compartment, it must be distilled. Some steamers are equipped with filters for cleaning, in which case you can pour water from the tap, but do not forget to change the filters regularly.

After buying an iron, carefully read the instructions that came with it. If you follow all the manufacturer's recommendations, your household appliance will not need frequent cleaning or repair.

When using an old iron, you may encounter such a problem that it starts to give out water instead of steam. This is very unpleasant and will certainly lead to damage to your favorite things. This situation may occur if the device is used incorrectly or if there are malfunctions. In the second case, the iron needs to be repaired, and it must be taken to a service center.

According to the manufacturer's instructions, water should be poured into a special tank before the device is connected to the electrical network. The fill valve must be tightly closed so that water does not spill onto the laundry.

Sometimes clothes can stick to the soleplate of the iron when ironing. Most often these are things made of synthetics. Such burns can be avoided by placing damp gauze on clothing. In addition, the reason may be non-compliance with the temperature intervals when ironing different types of fabric, which are indicated on the labels.

Often, to save time, sometimes you have to iron a shirt and then a silk blouse without switching the heat, although you need to carefully study the labels and tags on each garment and turn on the appropriate temperature setting.

Modern irons are equipped with an automatic self-cleaning system. You need to carefully study the instructions and use this useful feature as needed. In order not to stain the floor or furniture, it is necessary to prepare a basin and rags in advance for the flowing liquid. Usually self-cleansing includes the following steps:

• You need to fill the tank with clean water.
• Heat the iron to maximum temperature.
• Switch off the appliance and press the self-cleaning button.
• After these steps, all the liquid along with the dirt should come out of the steam holes.
• To remove scale and dirt residues, shake the iron, then wipe the soleplate with a damp cloth.

As with any small household appliance, the iron needs to be looked after daily. Every time after ironing, do not be too lazy to wipe its heating surface with a clean cloth moistened with warm water. Then it will not be necessary to scrub the old pollution for a long time, because they simply will not be there.

Despite the variety of types of pollution, experienced housewives have come up with many ways to deal with each of them using improvised means. There are some of the most popular methods:

• Salt you can only clean an iron with a metal surface. To do this, you need a piece of cotton fabric or white paper and a tablespoon of ordinary salt. It is necessary to heat the iron to the maximum temperature, turn off the steam supply. Then you should sprinkle the salt in an even layer on the fabric and gently move it over it, without pressing the iron too hard. So the sole will become clean, and the salt will take away all the stains and darken.

• soda clean irons even from Teflon, as it has a soft structure and is completely soluble in water. There are at least 2 ways to scrub the soleplate with baking soda. The first one is faster. It is only necessary to wrap a handful of soda in gauze and rub the heated ironing surface with it. For the second method, you will need a little more liquid detergent, it must be mixed with soda until a slurry is formed. This gruel should be rubbed on the sole, left for 30 minutes, then wiped with a cloth moistened with warm water.

• toothpaste You can also deal with minor impurities.It is necessary to smear the ironing surface of the device with paste, then rub it with a damp, rough cloth, wash off the resulting foam with water and wipe it dry.
• Vinegar - an indispensable tool for cleaning various items in the house, including the iron. You just need to wipe the hot sole with a small cloth moistened with vinegar. If the dirt is old and did not immediately go away, then you can leave the cooled iron on this rag for 8-10 hours. After that, it remains only to wipe the sole with a damp cloth.
• On the shelves of hardware stores you can see a wide variety of special pencils. The sequence of actions is the same for everyone: you need to smear the heated base of the iron with such a pencil, it will melt, removing pollution. Then it remains to wipe the sole with a damp cloth.

• You can clean the carbon deposits from the ironing surface regular foil. The thicker it is, the better. You just need to iron a sheet of foil with a heated iron, stuck pieces of fabric will remain on the foil.
• Hydrogen peroxide and ammonia You can also quickly clean a Teflon-coated iron. It is necessary to wipe the cold ironing surface with a cotton pad, abundantly moistened with one of these products. If the method does not work immediately, you need to heat the iron and repeat the procedure.
• Hydroperit. You should warm up the iron and move the tablet along the sole. Contamination will peel off along with the tablet, all that remains is to wipe the device with a damp cloth. It should be noted that this process should take place with an open window and always wear protective gloves, since harmful ammonia vapors are released.

Protect your skin and respiratory organs from their harmful effects and do not forget to open windows if unpleasant odors appear.

A big problem in the daily use of the iron is related to the sticking of pieces of fabric on the ironing surface. In order to clean off such deposits, you need to moisten any rough cloth with acetone and wipe the base thoroughly. The ceramic surface can be easily cleaned with a wooden spatula or scraper. The heated sole should be lightly scraped and then wiped with a damp cloth.

Another common problem is the sticking of polyethylene. Nail polish remover can also help in this case. The heated base should be wiped with a richly moistened cotton swab, when the iron has cooled down, rinse off the acetone and get rid of the specific smell with a damp cloth.

Inside, the water tank suffers most often. The reason for this is the dirty water that the housewives pour into the tank to create steam. Although some models of irons have an anti-lime rod, scale and lime deposits can still appear. Lemon juice or sparkling water are great helpers in the fight against this problem.

To clean the iron tank, a glass of hot solution of 25 g of citric acid and water must be poured into the filling hole. You should warm up the iron as much as possible and, holding the device over a bathtub or basin, turn on the steam mode several times. Together with the liquid, flakes of limescale will come out of the holes. After that, it remains to rinse the tank and wipe the sole with clean water.

Carbonated water, as in the previous method, should be poured into the hole and heat the iron.The acids and alkalis contained in soda will help dissolve old scale.

With one side of the stick, which is moistened in the resulting solution, you need to carefully clean the holes, then with the other dry end, remove all remaining dirt and solution.

Another effective way is from within. Pour distilled water with vinegar into the water tank. Turn on the iron and wait until it heats up, then turn on the steam mode and iron any towel for 10 minutes. After such actions, the holes will become clean again.

Rust on the ironing surface of the iron can occur for two reasons:

• high iron content in the water used;
• frequent contact of the base with metal fittings (on jeans or jackets).

To quickly get rid of rust, you need to heat the iron, then turn it upside down and drip a few drops of Silit into the steam holes. After some time, rust will begin to appear on the surface. Wipe it off with a dry cloth. At the end of the procedure, wipe the ironing surface with a cloth moistened with clean warm water.

With prolonged use, the iron can become dirty not only outside, but also inside. It is enough to regularly wipe it from above with a damp cloth, or, if necessary, using a detergent.

In addition to lime scale, sometimes greenish mold will form in the water tank, especially if the filling valve is always kept tightly closed.At the initial stages of infection, bleach will help, it must be diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 10, poured into the tank and left for an hour. Then heat up the iron and press the Steam button several times. Mold flakes should come out through the holes along with the steam. It remains to rinse the tank and the soleplate of the iron with clean water.

If you do not take care of the electrical appliance for a long time, a thick layer of soot will form on the sole. You can get rid of blackness with the help of a hot "bath". You need to put an iron in a baking sheet and pour hot water with any detergent there to the level of the sole. Leave the device for a while. If the soot has not gone away, then the baking sheet is additionally heated.

Cleaning the iron at home inside and out is not so difficult, there are many ways to do this. It is much more useful to know and constantly use measures to prevent the formation of soot and limescale.

What to do before use:

• carefully study the instructions for the device and the labels on the clothes you are going to iron;
• prepare a smooth, soft surface for ironing;
• before connecting to the network, pour clean drinking or distilled water into the tank.

During use:

• iron through wet gauze;
• observe the temperature regime for each type of fabric.

After use:

• disconnect the device from the electrical network;
• allow to cool completely by placing the iron with the sole up;
• drain the remaining water;
• wipe the cooled sole with a damp cloth.

For information on how to effectively clean the iron at home, see the video below.