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I rarely iron clothes, but when I do, I need to put water in the iron so I can use the "steam" feature to really get the wrinkles out.
I always drain the unused water out of the iron before I put it away. It seems that no matter what I do, or what brand I buy, or hiw much I spend, the iron(s) always sputters and spits out water onto my clothes - even when not using the "burst of steam" feature.
So today, we bought some new white dress shirts for my husband, and I went to iron the first one, and it sputtered and spit, and the water came out like a rust color. Ruined the shirt we had just purchased!
Does this happen to anybody else? Am I doing something wrong? Am I a total ironing geek? Is there an iron out there that won't do this? My current iron is a Shark and I paid about $60 for it.
Thanks for any suggestions, and thanks for reading!
Twinkle Toes, do you use distilled water in your iron? I find that helps me.
My current iron is a Black and Decker Digital Advantage. I love it - after perusing the ratings of Amazon, I found this iron with a high rating. I bought it and I'm not sorry one bit. It hisses with steam, but doesn't "spit up." No rust spots, black marks, etc.
Hmmmm....I've had that same problem. Oddly enough, I had it more with our previous iron (a Black & Decker) than with our current Shark.....I have used both tap and distilled water and don't notice a difference...(in fact, I could be mistaked - been awhile LOL - but I think our Shark directions specifically said not to use distilled water?)
"Use ordinary tap water. Do not use water processed through a home water softening system. In extremely hard water areas, use tap water the first time you use the iron, but consider using distilled or demineralized water for subsequent ironing. About once a month switch back to tap water to maintain steam performance."
Thanks - I knew I had read something about it but I don't do tons of ironing and couldn't remember....maybe it's time to buy some distilled water again....
Use brita filtered water. And the white shirt is not ruined. You can get rust out of shirts with CLR dilute. Do it under bright light and do not brush the fabric hard. Use a baby tooth brush and then flush it with water. If the shirt has synthetic in it, try lemon and salt. CLR melts some plastic. Sometimes a simple rewash can be the only thing you need.
You have to let the iron heat up all the way and clean it out with white vinegar just like you do a coffee pot. But get a couple junky towels and put it on full steam and a bunch of junk will probably come out of the holes.
I have had GE, Black & Decker and shark. They spit when they are new, heating up or needing cleaned out. I leave the cap open after draining the water to let it dry out. If I am getting sputters I just turn up the heat a little bit.
Did you do the thing where you iron a junky towel when you first got your iron? Are you ironing too fast and sloshing the iron around? Press down hard and slide slowly.
Or you can just leave it dry iron and have a fine mist spray bottle on the side. I did that in a very hard water area because I was sick of cleaning out the iron all the time.
There is always getting a garmet steamer too instead of an iron.
Use brita filtered water. And the white shirt is not ruined. You can get rust out of shirts with CLR dilute. Do it under bright light and do not brush the fabric hard. Use a baby tooth brush and then flush it with water. If the shirt has synthetic in it, try lemon and salt. CLR melts some plastic. Sometimes a simple rewash can be the only thing you need.
You have to let the iron heat up all the way and clean it out with white vinegar just like you do a coffee pot. But get a couple junky towels and put it on full steam and a bunch of junk will probably come out of the holes.
I have had GE, Black & Decker and shark. They spit when they are new, heating up or needing cleaned out. I leave the cap open after draining the water to let it dry out. If I am getting sputters I just turn up the heat a little bit.
Did you do the thing where you iron a junky towel when you first got your iron? Are you ironing too fast and sloshing the iron around? Press down hard and slide slowly.
Or you can just leave it dry iron and have a fine mist spray bottle on the side. I did that in a very hard water area because I was sick of cleaning out the iron all the time.
There is always getting a garmet steamer too instead of an iron.
Thanks, Pitt.
Actually, I am pretty careful - not sloshing the water or ironing too fast. I did let the iron spit and sputter onto an old towel first (not white - maybe I need a white towel), and didn't see anything but water. Then I ironed that top part of the back of the shirt first (the back/shoulder part) and that's when the rust came out. He is still going to wear the shirt, because he wears a suit (he's a lawyetr) so it will be hidden.
What I ended up doing was using a wet washcloth to dampen the wrinkled areas on this and the rest of the shirts and dry ironing. This worked, but was a PITA. I thought about getting a spray bottle, but was already home for the evening and didn't want to go back out again.
I do have a garment steamer, but find that it takes FOREVER to ge wrinkles out of things. I primarily use it on my suits between dry cleaning jaunts.
The iron was heated all the way, but not on MAX. I put it on Cotton/Linen setting so as not to burm the shirt. This iron gets pretty hot.
I am going to try the lemon and salt to see if I can get the spots off the shirt. Thank you for the tip!
You are welcome. I have done another lazy tip and just hang a shirt in the bath while showering, steam and then press the collar and cuffs with a flat iron. (run the flat iron over a damp towel first to remove any hair color/product that may of rubbed off.) If you have one of those around it makes that go so fast and quite frankly the easiest way to get a nice sharp collar. ☺
Last edited by pitt_transplant; 08-09-2010 at 01:15 PM..
Your welcome. I have done another lazy tip and just hang a shirt in the bath while showering, steam and then press the collar and cuffs with a flat iron. (run the flat iron over a damp towel first to remove any hair color/product that may of rubbed off.) If you have one of those around it makes that go so fast and quite frankly the easiest way to get a nice sharp collar. ☺
Ah! I know this one, but not for shirts. Also, didn't know abut the flat iron - what a great idea! This is what we ballroom dancers do at competition. When we get our gowns out of the suitcases - we hang them in the hotel bathroom with the door closed and the shower on so that the wrinkles come out of our gowns. Can't iron a gown encrusted with Swarovski crystals!
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This is what we ballroom dancers do at competition. When we get our gowns out of the suitcases - we hang them in the hotel bathroom with the door closed and the shower on so that the wrinkles come out of our gowns. Can't iron a gown encrusted with Swarovski crystals! 
