You can clean out a steam iron with white distilled vinegar. Fill the iron's water reservoir with white distilled vinegar, heat iron to hottest setting, and steam the vinegar out through the iron's holes in the sole plate. Hold the iron over an old white towel, ironing it, then suspending it above the towel. Change sides of the towel often to give the iron a clean surface to deposit the calcium and brown stuff. Rinse out water reservoir with DISTILLED water, and steam with distilled water, until only clear water runs out of the holes and no more spots are left on the white towel. Depending on how badly your iron is crusted inside with mineral deposits, you may have to repeat the process of putting Vinegar in it, heating and steaming, then filling with Distilled water and heating and steaming until no more dirty deposits come out.
Momof8, July 2008
