8 Tips You Should Know in 2020!

An iron or a flat iron is an indispensable part of our life whether we like it or not. We use it to make our clothes look more attractive, and not only clothes also linen, curtain, etc. However, from time to time we might face issues connected with an iron. Over time, the iron’s surface becomes sticky, oily and dusty causing our clothes to look worse than without ironing. Today, we want to talk about how to clean an iron effectively to work like a brand new one.

1. Baking Soda

It’s not a secret that baking soda is a powerful cleaner. Do you remember our article on how to clean a carpet stain? Well, baking soda works both for carpets and irons.

To make the paste, all you need is 1 part of water (better distilled or filtered) and 2 parts of baking soda. The paste should be runny and at the same time easy to stick to the surface of the iron. Rub the paste all over the iron plate using a brush or a towel, after wiping the past away with water and let it dry.

By the way, this paste can also help if the iron is losing steam. Here is a quick video by An Old School Home.

2. Vinegar

We know that you were waiting for this point. There you go. First off, turn off the iron completely until it is cool. Then dip a towel in white vinegar and wipe the soleplate to remove oily stains. If there are still small stains, you can put the iron soleplate on a towel soaked in distilled vinegar for 15-30 minutes and then wipe away and dry.

3. Vinegar + Baking Soda Duo

Another way to use vinegar as a cleaner is to mix two parts of white vinegar with one part of salt. You should heat the mixture on the stove over medium heat but make sure not to boil vinegar and again apply the solution on the iron. Warning, the smell is not quite pleasant. 

An even more powerful solution the mixture will be if you add toothpaste to it to remove brown stains. You will need 1 part of toothpaste, 2 parts of baking soda and 3 parts of vinegar. Sponge the mixture on the iron and scrub it.

4. Toothpaste

We have already used the toothpaste to clean up your iron above. Now we offer another way to remove gunks. All you need to do is to apply white toothpaste and rub it over the surface. Once you finish, wipe the toothpaste off with a cloth and do not use the iron until it’s completely dry.

5. Newspaper

You are probably rubbing your eyes in disbelief, but that’s true. Newspaper is a great iron cleaner. If you want to clean a sticky stain on your iron’s faceplate, you should heat up the iron and turn the steam off. Simply, run the iron over a newspaper until the stain is off. If it takes a little longer to clean the sticky part, sprinkle salt on the newspaper and then scrunch up again.

6. Salt

What about salt? Easy, cheap and not time-consuming way to remove the gunk of your iron’s faceplate is to use salt. Heat up the iron, sprinkle some salt on a paper run the iron over the paper. The salt will help remove the stains. After letting the iron cool, you can wipe away the salt with a dry rag. Below you can find a useful video by Household Hacker. 

7. Acetone

You can use an acetone nail polish remover to clean your iron’s dirtiness. First off, heat up the iron, afterward soak a cotton ball with acetone and quickly apply the soaked ball on the iron’s surface. Remember to wear oven gloves not to get burnt. The acetone will evaporate but will clean the iron perfectly. In the end, wipe the iron plate with water.

8. Sponges and Dish Detergent

If you simply want to clean up your iron and there are no big stains on it. An easy way to do it is by using non-scratch kitchen sponge soaked in dishwashing liquid or soap and scrub the surface with water. As soon as you finish cleaning, wipe the solution away with a towel and completely dry it before usage.

Aside from cleaning the faceplate of your iron, it’s highly important to know how often you should clean it to work longer. For example, you do ironing on a daily basis, you’d better clean it up more regularly than one that uses weekly or even monthly. However, there is no strict schedule on cleaning the iron soleplate, you will understand yourself when the iron won’t glide smoothly, or you will see brown water, etc.

Did you like our DIY tips on how to clean your iron? Then you should look at other DIY articles, as well and much more that might interest you. Stay tuned to learn more tips right from the experts.