thanks, I did stop using water in my iron but the damage was already done. As of now that iron (less than 6 months old) died on me and I havn't replaced it yet. I won't be putting water in my new one. :lol:

For cleaning the sole plate try Faultless Hot Iron Cleaner. You can purchase it from Wal*Mart. Cream comes in a small white & blue tube. In-between cleaning, try a wadded up piece of wax paper. You'll be amazed at how well it cleans the sole plate.

For the all purpose iron cleaning, I've always used filtered water. Hope you find some good ideas from the gals here.

Yes!! Just used this and it took all the icky off, even cleaned the sides and the plastic parts, didn't realize how dirty the poor thing had gotten!!

Okay, I am good about using filtered water, but for cleaning....in a bind I must admit, I've used the stove top cleaner and a sponge. Worked fine :)

There is a youtube video about this . I have used the wax paper trick for years . My Grandma showed me that one , she swore by it ! That was long before fusibles came along though . I haven't used the salt one yet . Guess I'll have to give that a try . For the dryer sheet , is that a new one or already used one ? Annie