I have one of these irons, too. Got it from Amazon. And it doesn't have an auto-shutoff, which I like. I have one bottle of Best Press which is diluted 50/50 with water and one bottle which is full strength. I put a dab of nail polish on the diluted bottle so I can tell at a glance which is which. If I just need to take the wrinkles out of a piece of fabric, I use the diluted -- spray well, get up and get a glass of iced tea to give it time to soak into the fabric, then press. If I need a crisp seam or want to stabilize the edges, I use the full strength. In my 50+ years of sewing / quilting, I've never had a steam iron that didn't eventually spit out gunk. even if I used purified or distilled water. If I ever wanted to get another steam iron, I'd probably spring for the Reliable iron.
And I don't prewash fabrics, either, unless I'm doing an exchange of some kind where prewashing is in requirements.
Originally Posted by
SueSew
I have a $29 no-steam iron which has no holes in it - flat, shiny bottom. Works great, piece of cake to clean, no potential rust or mineral buildups inside the iron, no crud in the holes from starch or glue or dust or whatever.
I use a spray bottle of water with a fine mist as needed. But I very infrequently dampen pieces - I generally use a light starch or water spray to kill the bad mid-width creases and I try to work with the fabric as opposed to against it. Heat does the trick, not steam, for me.
But don't cal the quilt police as I don't pre-wash!
