How to Get Calcium Out of a Clothes Iron
Those white, chalky deposits in your clothes iron might be calcium deposits that have leached out of your water supply. Sometimes other minerals may cause darker colored deposit spots as well. Don't scrub at the iron, though, with anything like a wire brush that might scratch it. Steam cleaning the spots out with a little vinegar is much easier and less harmful to the iron. Make sure to use white vinegar, not apple cider vinegar, because you don't want to bake any of the fermented particles in other types of vinegar into the iron.
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Empty the clothes iron's reservoir of any remaining water.
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Fill the iron's reservoir to between one quarter and one half full of white vinegar.
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Set the iron to its highest steam setting and wait for it to come to a full steam.
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Steam iron a small, clean cloth that you don't mind staining. The calcium deposits will be steam cleaned out of the reservoir and rubbed away from the iron faceplate.
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Unplug the iron. Let it cool until the faceplate is cold, and then use a sponge or non-scratch scrubber soaked in water and dish soap to scrub away any remaining marks on the iron's face plate.
Tips
- Always empty the iron's reservoir completely before storing. This will help to minimize any further iron deposits in the future.
Warnings
- Never leave a hot iron unattended. Always unplug the iron before cleaning it.
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