I have sticky webbing all over it...

I use commercial iron cleaner that Rowenta makes--but I think Dritz makes it too. It has always worked for me.

I do too...the webbing can be a bear to remove :D:D:D
for general build up I occasionally use a dryer sheet.

It is cheaper in the long run to purchase an applique sheet if you do very much fusing:D:D:D

Thanks Marcia

Thanks Amma, I didn't know there was such a beast...

Parchment paper or the release paper from the fusible itself works just as well as an appliqué sheet or teflon mat. To clean the iron, you can use an old toothbrush and vinegar or a Mr Clean Magic Eraser. Neither will scratch a teflon sole plate. There are lots and lots of other remedies that work with various degrees of success as well.

Wow, Mr Clean Magic Eraser? Thanks

I bought some iron cleaning sheets made to remove fusibles. Works great. It's a BoNash product. Goo Gone works with some scrubbing. Also Super Glue remover will work but it's expensive to use a lot and hard to find. I keep it for stuck fingers, which happens about twice a year around here.

Thankyou all for your suggestions!

I run my iron over used dryer sheets as my first try. They must be used!!!

Here is a link to video from the Sharon Schamber Network..

http://www.beginningquilter.com/vide...ron/index.html

Yes, they come in different colors, but I like the whiteish ones because you can see through them. I have two, one for on the ironing board, one for on top of the fabric :D
Ghostrider is right too, I keep forgetting about those :roll:

I use Pig Snot chrome cleaner. I get it from my motorcycle aftermarket shop.. it's a company that makes a full line of cleaning products for motorcycles. it takes a very small amount and will take almost anything off of chrome without damaging it. I first got it to take black plastic and "shoe sole" material off of my hot tail pipes.. it is awesome stuff!! You can also find it on line.

same for me. i use the dritz one

I place a New dryer sheet on top of a scrap of fabric. With the iron hot, press over the dryer sheet and then onto the scrap of fabric. Whatever is in the dryer sheet turns very slick when the hot iron passes over it, and it tends to remove the stuff stuck onto the iron as it passes from the dryer sheet onto the fabric.

this is what I use also...

I will have to try that dryer sheet trick :)

I have always used nail polish remover, then water to clean that fusible stuff up, works just fine.

I use and iron cleaner I get at Bed Bath and Beyond. It is in a tube and is great. Cleans off everything.

I know this doesn't help with an iron that already has sticky stuff on the bottom, but......My last two irons have had "Silverstone" sole plates and fusables do not stick to it. I just run the hot iron over some waste fabric and it is clean. I found this out by accident and from now on that is what I will look for first in an iron.

I use a cleaner that walmart has for irons. It's a little tube that goes on a rag and then you run a hot iron over it. I does a good job of getting the sole plate clean for me.

My Rowenta iron is so bad .........."How BAD is it??"

The whole plate was completely black from ironing felt and covered with Heat and Bond and all kinds of crafty ironing
that I just took out 000 steel wool and ironed over it.(with the iron ON) Then I scrubbed until everything came off. Iused it today and it's fine. Really felt that I had nothing to lose. If I didn't have another iron for regular ironing maybe I wouldn't have done it. But it's fine.

Of all the cleaners I've tried, Dritz "Iron Off" works the best for me. I tried the Magic Eraser, not the heavy duty one, and found it lacking. While it did do a great job inside the cavern before the soleplate (that narrow area that buttons will slide through when you're doing a shirt), it just didn't clean the bottom of my iron nearly as well the "Iron Off". In fact, I finished cleaning my iron with the "Iron Off" after the Magic Eraser wouldn't get it all.

I like everyones great tips. Thanks. I do alot of applique with webbing so I bought an old iron at a yard sale just to use for that. I use a brown paper bag and put salt on it and rub the iron around on it and it seems to work too.

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser worked for mine, too. Even if you don't think your iron is "bad", give it a cleaning, the sides of mine had a lot of accumulation, I wondered why I had a dark streak on fabric occasionally -- Got a lot of oxidation or accumulation off and NO dark streaks since!!!!

Use an old dryer sheet. Simply lay it out on the ironing board and run your hot iron over it a few times. It works amazingly well. You can even stack several old dryer sheets together if you are worried about anything coming off onto the ironing board. Hope this helps!

A long time ago I heard to allow iron to cool, dampen (wet and wring out) a washcloth and use sodium bicarbonate. Over the years it has worked for me. Sometimes I needed more of the paste than others. Once I needed the assistance of an old toothbrush. But it's good to know about all these other things if I need it. Thank you. I will share this website as it is about baking sode also. http://www.cancerfungus.com/ My family says it was used to be added to bath water and foot soaks and compresses.

It happened to me this morning. I grabbed the Mr. Clean eraser and used it on the hot iron. (BE CAREFUL!) Everything came off and it looks like new.
It was bad....how bad was it? I was using the iron on transfers for dark fabric and you are supposed to cover it with the pressing sheet. OOPS....I forgot and the whole thing fused right to the iron.

Hi there. Heat up your iron and run it over a dryer sheet. It will clean up nicely. Rosalyne

I put salt on brown paper bag & run the iron over it comes right off

I use rubbing alcohol to clean my irons---works great

I dropped my iron on carpet and you can guess what happened. Melted carpet covered the entire iron. I put a dryer sheet with a little water in a pan. Set the iron in it and let soak. Not all came out, but the I used ironing cleaner and finished the job.

I've used dryer sheets, too, and they get all the goo off, but I've found that they leave a bit of a residue that you need to iron off on an old piece of muslin or something.

Sounds like something I would do....lol

I use a product called Never Dull magic wadding polish BUT if you have a Teflon coated iron you can not use this . I have also heard people say to use a fabric softener sheet to get the sticky stuff off.

I am using dryer sheets for "paper" peicing

I save up a bunch, press nicely and am ready to go and....my iron gets cleaned at same time

Helloooooo! is anyone there? I lost my connection.

Mr Clean Magic Eraser...works great!!! In the grocery store in the laundry isle....not at Wal Mart.

:mrgreen: I have always used Dritz Iron-Off and found it to do a great job. I think I am going to try some of the other suggestions however just to see how well they work.