It is difficult to find an iron without a steam function on sale today. With steam, it is easier to achieve perfect smoothness of things, and to remove gloss, and to soften the thing before ironing. But steam is water, and tap water is quite hard. Scale forms in the heating tank, which clogs the nozzles and spills onto the clothes during ironing. Is it necessary to pull it out. Let’s consider how to clean a steam iron at home.
What home remedies will help remove scale
Everyone who has had to remove scale from a kettle knows that it is easier to deal with this problem if you prevent the appearance of plaque in time. It’s the same with a steam iron. You should not wait for the water to start flowing, and sand to fall from the nozzles. In the store you can buy special products that can be used to clean scale. But you can get by with what is in the kitchen cabinet and refrigerator of any housewife:
- Citric acid. Free the heating tank from water. Prepare a solution of 250 g of warm water and 2 spoons of acid. After the powder is completely dissolved, pour the solution into the tank of the iron and turn on the device to the “steam” mode and to maximum heating. After heating the unit, release several jets, and then evaporate the unnecessary thing until the solution completely evaporates. If the cleaning procedure is carried out infrequently, it can be repeated twice.
- Vinegar. It is possible to clean in this way only if the sole of the iron is metal. Take a pan, on the bottom of which the iron will fit freely. A baking sheet is also suitable. Put two wooden boards on the bottom of the vessel, on which the sole of the turned off iron is placed. Thus, there is a distance between the bottom of the pan and the sole. A solution is poured into the pan, which includes: a glass of table vinegar and a liter of water. The solution is enough to cover the sole of the steam iron by 1.5 cm. The lever must be switched to the steam mode. Put the pan on the stove and wait for the solution to boil. Turn off the stove and turn it on again after 2-3 minutes. Repeat this 2-3 times. Attention: you can turn on the iron after such a procedure only after a day! For this time, it is advisable to put it near a heating radiator or blow it with a hair dryer.
- A less radical way to clean a steam iron than the previous one, but also with the use of vinegar. Dip a rag in vinegar and place it in a cellophane bag. Place the iron there so that the sole touches the cloth. Tie the bag to keep a moist environment inside. After 5-6 hours, remove the iron and leave for a day to dry.
How to properly clean an iron with a self-cleaning function
Some models are equipped with a self-cleaning function. It is very convenient, but you need to perform this procedure correctly.
- Turn on the iron, heat it up and turn it off. Turn on and heat again.
- Press the button of the self-cleaning system when the iron is disconnected from the network but has not cooled down.
- Inside, the cleaning process will begin, which will be accompanied by the emission of steam and debris from the holes. Therefore, it is better to keep the unit above some container.
- In the process of ironing, you can shake it so that the emission of all unnecessary things goes more intensively.
- Wipe the sole dry with a napkin, and you can iron it.
As you can see, it is easy to clean a steam iron from scale. The main thing is to do it on time, and not to bring it to a complete failure.