there is a paste that they sell expressly for cleaning the sole plate. follow the instructions exactly and it will be good as new and shiney.

I heat the iron to cotton-level heat and press a wet towel to get most of it off, then use

If it's not a teflon-coated iron, use 0000 steel wool or one of those green scrubber 3M pads to get the rest of the goop.

Annie, Here is the product that I have used for many years. You can find it at Walmart in the cleaning products department. It is in a small tube and usually hanging from an end cap.

Here is a link that might be useful: Faultless Hot Iron Cleaner

Pick off what you can. My mother always sprinkled table salt on a double piece of waxed paper, heated the iron, and "sanded" it off. The wax melted onto the iron and helped smooth it too.

So Annie, how did your iron turn out?

I had the same iron problem a while ago and at the time I found this good website. I cleaned my iron with vinegar and salt and it worked fine. (Although you will be picking salt out of the steam holes with a toothpick afterwards, lol.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Tipking Website

I keep a wad of 0000 (4-0) steel wool on hand--does a great job, and never scratches!

Janice

Second the Faultless iron cleaner and they carry it at places like Linens & Thing.

Reading this brings back a lot of memories - but what really knocks me over is that folks still USE an iron!!!!!

unwrinkled grins from Vicki

I used the wet towel method, but most of the stuff did not come off the sole plate. So I sprayed water directly on the sole plate, and rubbed it off with the wet rag and the stuff wiped off. Now be careful so you don't burn your self, but it worked great!!

Wow - this is an old one resurrected!

But I had the same problem and use a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser - worked like a charm. Before I tried it I bought a new iron but still have the box and receipt so it's going back!

My iron plate was entirely brown from a project that used iron on tape. I was ready to buy a new one for the few occasions when I needed it - I tried the salt and wax paper trick but that didn't make a dent in the goo on the plate. I reached under the sink and found a little plastic bottle of "Krud Kutter" and Wow, the stuff pretty much dissolved and with the use of a 3M green scrubber the iron plate looks like new! I ironed some wax paper to make sure it would glide on fabric and now I'm ready to press the wrinkles out of new drapes.

Thanks for the tips. My Rowenta steam generator iron constantly gets cruddy. The iron cleaner does not do the trick. Will try some of these tips and see how it works. Can't find a Rowenta site to find out - guess they just want to sell irons, not clean them. Since I sew a lot, my iron is essential!

I just tried cleaning my iron. It is now like new again. I used 'The Magic Eraser'. In Australia 'The Magic Eraser' is made by chux. They make cleaning cloths etc.

I accidently touched the tip of my iron to a roll of stich witchery that was laying on my ironing board while I was fixing the hem in a pair of pants. The iron picked up the end of the roll and fused a 6 inch strip to the sole plate! I got most of it off by "ironing" it on to my damp pressing cloth. Before I tried anything else, I googled and found this thread. I wouldn't have thought to use the Magic Eraser, but it worked great on the remaining goo. Thanks!

I use "real beeswax" my mother gave me about 56 years ago (1955). In growing up years we always had hives of bees. The one piece of beeswax has lasted all this time and in the past ironing was for a large family.

Beeswax works like a charm, just rub on sole plate of hot iron and rub iron back & forth over a folded terry cloth rag (old washrag or piece of towel). Repeat if necessary. Be sure and rub over a clean piece of terry cloth to remove residue from beeswax.

Save the used terry cloth rags to keep the iron in "slip & slide" condition!

True, this is an old post, but, many may still find the information to be of help.

Used dryer sheets. don't know why, but they work. I own a Panasonic iron with a titanium sole plate and nothing, but nothing sticks to it.

I was a doubter and fully prepared to buy a new iron, and like most of you since I seldom iron it seemed like a waste of money. But I followed the advice of the Mr. Clean Eraser person and lo and behold, like magic. I do use that particular product for other things but thought this "burnt on" stuff wouldn't give, but it did so I will iron the table cloth and a few napkins and then put it away for another year or two. Thank you very much for all your help.

Just read about it and just used it! Went to Sally's and bought a small tub of cheap strong hair relaxer. Rubbed it on my iron while it was hot with an old washrag. All the old gunk came off! You don't know how releived I am!I iron with scented water and had a devil of a time getting the gunk off! I had just started buying new irons. The hair relaxer worked like a charm!

My Mother In Law always kept the water from the dehumidifier to use in the iron. I've used the same method and the purified water never stopes the holes in steam irons.

Magic Eraser did the trick - thank you!

THANK YOU for the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser tip!! It works GREAT even better than the Faultless Iron Cleaner cream which I couldn't find in the stores in my locale. Cleaning the burn stains from my iron has been a big problem. I'm so happy to have this solution!

I didn't feel like going out to the store for the above-mentioned Magic Eraser, so I tried putting some of that Tide stain remover on the iron--the Tide in the small tube you can carry in your purse. I then ironed it on a nubby towel, and no gunk came off. So then I tried the salt and waxed paper method, and still no gunk came off. Then I allowed the iron to cool down and just flicked off the gunk with a single-edged razor! I don't know which one did the trick, but my iron is clean. Thanks.

Remember to wait until the iron is cool before you begin the cleaning process. You can get rid of any build-up in the vents of the iron by taking a cotton swab or a pipe cleaner and gently sweeping the residue out of the area. If you attempt to use something of a harsher nature, like a tool or a knife, you could scratch the base of the iron, causing future problems. One of the best ways to learn how to clean an iron is to prevent build-up problems in the first place. Read your manufacturer's instruction manual carefully.

My daughter recently brought me her iron as she melted carpet fibers on the sole plate. I used glass range top cleaner and a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. It worked great with minimal effort and did not scratch the plate.

Thank you! I had some 0000 steel wool in my garage. Tested a spot on the sole plate. No scratches! It worked great! I should have remembered that! My mind is not so great these days!

If you have a metal soleplate get you some Faultless Iron Cleaner and never be without it, it works like magic, you will love it. Forget the other things, Faultless has the issue solved!

I thought I had ruined the iron. A piece of upholstrey fabric that I tried to iron melted to the entire surface of the iron. After reading all these comments, I thought what do I have to lose trying the hot iron, salt and wax paper method. I was shocked to see a big piece fall off on my first try. Repeated pieces of wax paper and LOTS of salt completely cleaned it. Then cleaning holes with soft tooth brush and steaming out the holes -- it's like new! My tip be persistent with many applications of wax paper and plenty of salt.

I sew and iron a lot, and I use a wool press pad, but I accidentally had the iron on the Linen setting and the wool melted and stuck on my iron. I didn’t have any wax paper, so I dumped a bunch of salt on parchment paper, ran it over while the iron was cool and many of the chunks came off, ironing it while warm and it did the trick. Another time I melted an upholstery lining fabric over 3/4 of the iron, but running the hot iron on the ironing pad got most of it off.