In my sewing room I'm one of those quilters that starches ALL her fabric before cutting and sewing. I'll even admit I will starch sometimes as I'm piecing blocks together if I feel they are budging a little more than I would like. I just enjoy having stiff pieces of fabric to sew through. It's easier and more precise.
Remember when I talked about my irons in this post. Well, I've since ordered a new Rowenta iron. I was looking to upgrade from my old one (which still works) and found this baby.
I'm going to assume that if you quilt and are reading this post you own an iron. If you don't... please tell me how you survive without one!
My money saving tip #2 is for cleaning the sole plate of your iron! Can you believe Rowenta sells their own soleplate cleaner for $15.99. And its a little-bitty tube of paste at that. I purchased the Dritz version of the cleaner for a fraction of that cost but it was hard to rub the hot sole plate all the time (because I use so much starch) and I almost burned myself a few times. Did I mention nasty, nasty fumes?! Ugh... so, I was playing around with some different cleaning options and decided to try a wet Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and voila! Like butter and I didn't even have to touch it. They are a lot less expensive than those cleaners and you can clean it multiple times with just one eraser.
Here is the how-to:
- wet your magic eraser enough so that it is wet all the way through
- place the magic eraser over a folded towel to protect your surface
- heat up your iron and swipe it over the magic eraser
- no fumes, no burns, and a clean iron!
Try it and let me know how it works for you!
Not have an iron?? That is crazy!! My quilt instructor says that an unpressed quilt is forever an unpressed quilt, because if you don't press as you go, it will never be right! That new Rowenta is my dream iron! I love the one I have, but that one is a Cadillac! Enjoy!
ReplyDelete~Laurie
Silly me! That's what I've been doing to clean my iron, I just never thought of posting about it!
ReplyDeleteLaurie: That is exactly right!! It is a pretty nice iron. Got it on eBay for only $40 and that included the shipping! :o)
ReplyDeleteBetsy Lynn: I know exactly what you mean. My husband usually gives me ideas on what to blog about because it is second nature to me. I'll often say people don't want to know about that.. and it turns out they do! :o)
ReplyDeleteUm, AWESOME! And timely, too. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteTHANK you so much for this tip!! I am going to try it right NOW!!
ReplyDeletePaulette
wow! I love this idea! I had no idea how to clean my iron..hmmm tho...may just leave my old one dirty to show my dear husband that I "need" a new one so I can buy a new rowenta on ebay!! LOL!!
ReplyDeleteOMG! what a life saver! I tried it this morning. Voila! it worked. Thanks so much for the tip!
ReplyDeletethat's good to know! and another iron cleaning tip that i use all the time... to get glue or anything sticky like hemming tape off an iron- warm the iron up and rub it down with a dryer sheet and the yuck comes right off.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the tip! I've tried baking soda and vinegar but they didn't do much for my plate. I will definitely try this as soon as I get a magic eraser. Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteThat makes me want to run right upstairs and burn something on my iron so I can try this tip to get it off!!
ReplyDeleteI have a Rowenta, but it's been dropped one too many times, and squirts water out the bottom each time I fill it up and let it heat up. Ugh. Hate it.
You are a genius! I can't wait to us my Mr. Clean Pad to clean my iron! It needs a serious cleaning! Thanks!!!
ReplyDeleteAs a retired H. Ec. teacher I find the comment irritating as I too told my students that pressing is what sets a project apart. I had six irons and ironing boards in a room of 24 students and would not let them proceed to the next step without pressing. Some people simply will not listen to good advice. I do, however, appreciate the cleaning tip.
ReplyDeleteSorry, Diane! Didn't mean to irritate you. I wish I would've had a home ec teacher like you. In my home ec class students got away with all kinds of poorly made assignments!
ReplyDeleteI am no professional, but I have sewed for many years and I tell people all the time: "half of sewing is ironing!" I may sometimes be a slapdash sewist, but the one thing I always do is iron as I go. It's just not right otherwise. Thanks for the tip about the magic eraser - that's something I usually have hanging around the house anyway, so I'll give it a try.
ReplyDeleteI've always used a fabric softener sheet and that works great too!
ReplyDeleteHi!, interesting tip.. well I use normally White Vinegar, common, easy and very cheap to get. I just wet a cotton cloth with vinegar, and do the same procedure you explain here. It might be a bit more rubbing, but also the iron plate ends quite clean. I've read somewhere that for those old spots of "hard" water, adding a mix of vinegar and baking soda, does wonders. Filling the iron with it instead of water, and after hot for some minutes, empty it and add water to rinse. (Same goes for the ironing plate). I gave it a try and indeed was wonderful (my iron was my husbands, that I guess was never deep-cleaned before I did hehe).. It works good and now keeps clean for longer.
ReplyDeleteGood thought! Thanks for sharing. I usually end up rubbing soft scrub on my cold iron and then wiping it off. It works well and I've never had any problems with it. :) Don't know if it's good for the iron...
ReplyDeleteGreat idea Vanessa...hadn't thought of it.
ReplyDeleteHOT DANG! I hate those Magic Erasers, but I'm gonna try it on my iron! Maybe it's THE best use for it! Thanks so much for the tip...you've saved me from turning into an old grouch with a messy soleplate! Hugs! E. Hansen, Chester County, PA
ReplyDelete