I have two irons one a black & decker and the other is a rowenta. Neither one of them will get hot, the auto shut off light comes on blinking but the won't get hot. I love to iron with the steam setting, could it be that i burned out the heating element on the iron or what. Someone please tell me something or am I just hard on irons.

mrlove2iron, August 2009

Irons are not made to last like they used to be - they are also not designed or made to be repairable - in fact the ones I've tried to repair in the past 15 years or so appear to be built to be deliberately dificult to repair.

Unless you bash it about and drop it on the floor there's not much you can do to shorten the life of your iron. Keeping it in its box and never using it is probably all you can do to make it last.

Buy a new iron but don't spend a fortune on it - if you consider a fancy Steam Press Iron the Elna Alize is a good model to investigate - I bought one 2 years ago for £180 but have since given it away to a relative.

http://www.coopersewing.co.uk/home/photos/alize.jpg

Peccavi, August 2009