Well the other day I actually needed it for it's intended purpose, to steam and iron a backdrop I have....a white backdrop. And well, it just sent shivies down my spine thinking of ironing it with something so dirty. So, I remember someone once saying that salt cleaned irons. And then just in case, I went on pinterest and saw a few pins about it, so I figure. Hey why not try?? Well....that didn't clean nothin'. Maybe my iron had too much gunked on crud...actually, I know my iron had too much gunked on crud.
this is what I started with...iikkk. |
Drench a paper towel in vinegar and lay the iron on it for a good five minutes, then start rubbing again and more and more crud will come off.
almost clean..not quite yet though. |
But....if your iron is even worse like mine...you'll need a little more power. Baking soda! Now place the baking soda on the drenched paper towel, place the iron on top of it and start 'ironing' (with the iron off of course). That stuff will come right off. It's amazing...and well, disgusting. :) The baking soda acts like an abrasive and scrubs the stubborn stuff right off.
Once it's all clean, put your iron on the steam setting and you'll notice the baking soda that got stuck in the holes will start to come out. Clean it up, steam again, clean it up...etc until all the baking soda is out.
For the stubborn holes, you may need to get a tooth pick and force the built up baking soda out. And voila!
If your iron is as gross as mine, you can probably skip the middle step of soaking it in the vinegar towel and go straight to the baking soda. If you do it like this, I bet you can have your iron cleaned in about 5 or so minutes.
I had no idea that my iron could look like new again! Awesomesauce :) Once again I am amazed by the power of vinegar and it's ability to clean practically anything, even my nasty iron :)