Love your opinion. Too funny. :D I've been thinking of getting a new iron and so glad this question came up. So more expensive isn't always better. I do get a little ticked when I'm ready to press again and it's shut itself off. Grrrrr is what I say too.

distilled water is BAD for the human body...it tends to leach the minerals & vitamins out of your body! Best to use regular bottled water. Same with your iron...

From what I understand the distilled water doesn't have enough particles of things besides water in it to make good steam. (That is a very unscientific way of explaining it.) The Rowenta's I've had say to use regular tap water. I suppose if your water is too loaded with stuff, you could dilute it with distilled water. Rowenta, and I suppose most irons, recommends emptying them for storage. I follow the Rowenta directions and give mine a good cleaning every so often to avoid mineral buildup in the iron.

Did your grandma have one of those things with holes in the top that fit on a bottle and you 'sprinkled' your clothes with it? Yep! I'm old!

I, like others here, don't like Rowentas. I had an issue with my steam generator spitting badly and staining the fabric. I used tap water exactly as required. When I contacted the company, the reply I got was that if I used my iron every day I wouldn't have a problem. HUH?!?!? Now I have a Shark and love it. I use my dehumidifier water, doesn't cost me anything and is free of anything that would cause clogging or staining. This is the same as distilled water.

Google "customer reviews of Rowenta irons" for an eyefull of complaints about this very problem. It's very widespread.

I finally gave up on mine and bought a $20 "happy" iron at walmart. When that breaks down or falls off the ironing board, I can just go buy another one without heartache.

Jan in VA

I always followed the directions for my Rowenta (I have had 3 or 4) and find that after about 4 years they all start to spit and sputter rusty water. I loved my Rowenta iron, but they just got too expensive to replace that often. I think now, they have one that has a plastic resivour and probably it would not rust. Now, I have a mid-grade Sunbeam that I love.

Yes was happy to find old heavy HOT irons that don't turn off every other minute too!

And oh yes, I remember the sprinkler bottle with holes my mother used to use. She would sprinkle the clothes and roll them and store in the refrigerator until ironing day.

If you wanna check to see if its your water causing the problem, check your shower head, take it off & see if it needs cleaned out, alot of people never clean thier shower heads and the sediment build up over time prevents water flow from the shower head. Same with your sinks. Amazing how fast it can build up!

Rowentas say to use tap water. Could be something in your water causing the 'rust'. I've had (have) Rowenta irons and always use tap wtr...they do fine. Where I live now we have a lot of calcium in the water, I contacted Rowenta and they said I could use Spring water that u buy at the store in jugs... I would suggest try cleaning your iron with vinegar/water, slush it around, pour out - redo and turn on your iron and set it on a wire mat in the sink, have the steam on, and let'er rip. If you have the spray feature, do it several times as it's steaming, this cleans that little valve too. These are things I've done with all my irons and have yet to 'lose' one.. Good luck.