Happy Saturday,
Hello Friends. I don’t know about you. My iron gets gummed up when I do a lot of pressing with interfacing. Even though, I am careful, I still get that black gum on the iron.
Why should you keep your iron clean? The glue can singe your fabric if the iron is hot. It happens because the glue grabs onto the fabric that you are ironing. Nothing like pressing out a white shirt and the glue puts a black mark on the shirt. It is very hard to get it out. It will also help extend the life of the iron. You want the steam to come thru the iron. If the steam is building up and not coming out of the iron, it can cause damage.
I have tried several techniques, and I will give you the pros and cons. Before doing anything on the iron plate, read the instructions. Start on a small spot on the bottom of the iron. Test this before using it on the whole iron. When you get glue on your iron, remove it at once. Do not let it sit and become harder.
Fabric Softener Sheet
Pros, this is something that you probably have on hand. The cost would be minimal.
The con it really did not take off anything off the iron for me. I tried it both wet and dry with no success.
Baking soda/water paste
You mix equal parts of baking soda and water. You use a soft brush to go over the iron and then wipe it clean. I would let it sit and allow the paste to get into the glue.
Pros is that is economical. It also works.
Cons: It can be messy. While cleaning, keep the iron sitting on a towel. This way, whatever drips off can be caught by the towel.
Iron Off
Pros it is low cost because a little goes along way. The bottle is not very big so it can be easy to store. It does work in removing the glue. You can buy this from Joann’s.
The Con is that you will probably have to do this more than once to get all the glue off.
Word of caution be really careful when trying these approaches. Again start in a small spot at the corner of the iron. I purchased Magic Iron Cleaner from Amazon and it took part of the finish off the iron.
Let me know what techniques you have used to get the glue from interfacing off your iron. I This can be helpful to everyone and plus I love hearing from my readers.
Happy Sewing,
Valerie
The Saturday Seamstress 