How to Clean a Burned Iron

Learn how to clean a burned iron with just a few simple steps.

Hello, everyone.  We are so glad you are here.  A lot of us have some extra time on our hands right now, and it’s a great time to do some of those things we have been putting off.   I have been doing  some cleaning that I normally wouldn’t do.  That involved cleaning the burned bottom of my iron and giving the Keurig coffee maker a good cleaning.  For both processes, I referred to a Youtube video.  Today we will deal with the iron, and I will show you how I cleaned my Keurig coffee maker in a future post.

I bet you either have a burned iron now, or you have had one in the past.  In fact, many people just throw their irons away and buy a new one when the bottom is burned.  Well, with just a few easy steps, your iron can possibly look new.  Today I am going to show you how to clean a burned iron.

I have this Rowenta iron that I have had several years.   In fact, I wrote a post a few years ago (read it here) that tells how to make your iron last longer.  I am convinced that those tips are why I can get so many years out of my irons.  That being said, somewhere along the line, the bottom of my iron burned.  Not only was it unsightly, but I was afraid that the brown might rub off on a favorite piece of clothing when I was ironing it.  I do a lot of ironing around here because I enjoy it, and I want my clothes to look nice.

There were two completely different processes depending on how dirty the bottom of the iron is.  The first one was to put some salt on a paper towel, set the iron to a medium heat, and iron the salt.  The salt should act like sand paper and clean the iron.  That process did not work for me because my iron was too burned.

This is the process I followed:

1.  Mix 1 tablespoon of toothpaste, 2 tablespoons of baking soda, and 1/4 cup vinegar in a bowl.  It will foam up.  Mix it well with a spoon until combined.
2. Turn the iron on a medium setting.
3. Use a sponge or rag and rub the mixture onto the surface of the iron.  Be careful not to burn your hands.  A white film might appear on the iron, but that’s okay.  Continue this process until the iron is clean.
4. When the burn is gone, wipe the bottom of the iron to remove any residue.
5. Then fill the iron with distilled or filtered water, turn it on high, and iron an old rag or towel to thoroughly clean the bottom.  Be sure to use the steam setting so that the water can clean the holes.  You don’t want any remaining residue to ruin your clothes in the future.
6. If the steam holes on the bottom of the iron are clogged, use a safety pin to open them.
7. The first time you use the iron after it has been cleaned, rub the hot bottom on a rag to be sure dirty residue has all been removed from the iron.

That’s all there is to it.  The iron is so clean that you can see my reflection in it.  This process might extend your iron’s life a few more years.

Happy cleaning!

Take care.

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