do you share my very bad habit of not draining the water out of the iron between uses?
i haven't needed it since i bought the black & decker classic, but i keep an old, rough towel handy. once the iron is full of water and has had time to heat up, i iron the towel first. any shmutz in or on the iron gets on the towel, not my board or fabrics.
i use spray starch to prepare my fabs for cutting. if i get starch buildup on the iron, i just spray water on the heat plate and around the metal sides, then iron it away onto the towel.