My big mistake was that I bought a new iron and forgot to take the protective plastic off the sole plate before plugging it in. I noticed it when it started smoking. I didn't have room in my freezer so I sat the iron in a tray of ice after it cooled down and I stopped kicking myself. Sure enough the plastic chipped right off. What little residue was left I used a magic eraser on and voila! iron was saved. I use magic eraser to periodically clean my iron if there's any accumulation of stuff on the plate.