I have one that is stiff with starch. Just curious.

Wash.

Mine is so filthy that I thought I would just throw it away. Thanks for the post. I will wash it first and see if it will clean-up with some Oxyclean.

I wash mine, but it's getting so old and stained it really looks bad. There's only so much washing can do after a while. One of these days, I'll have to get another one.

I wash them, put it back on and cover it with a new one. Makes my ironing board more padded.

Wash & cut up for potholders if it is still useful!

I tend to use mine till it's discolored and cracked. I've never washed one before. I'll have to try that.

I was them until they have holes or somehow inhibit the ironing process.

I'm embarrassed to admit my ironing board and cover were wedding gifts--40 yrs ago!!!!! It was one of those silver heavy duty fabric (Prob had asbestos in it). I loved it cause it reflected the heat nicely. It finally got to the place where it was too stained and ripped around the edges. I searched high and low for a new--they were all light weight cotton with thin lining. I finally found one at Clothilde-it has the lines and measurements on it (which I don't use, not accurate) but it is thick canvas fabric and I kept my old one under it. I just couldn't throw it away LOL>

Oh JanRN, we can only wonder what else you have kept for 40 years! LOL!

I just throw them away and get a new one. By the time I need a new one they generally have been starched and scorched enough they would probably fall apart in the wash.

I've washed them and then, when I can't keep it looking clean anymore, I cover it with another like np3 for the extra padding!

Thanks for the replies. The one I have on my ironing board has threads sticking to the surface from starching. I don't like to use my "quilting" cover when I am ironing slacks, blouses, etc.

I was afraid to wash it until now, for fear of damaging the washer..LOL

I throw mine out...they are cheap enough.

I wash mine until they fall apart, then I wash them some more! lol

When the holes get so big that ironing is a problem, I leave them on for extra padding and cover them with another.

I need to make one soon, mine is worn out again!

I have found that making a baking soda and water paste and rubbing it into the stains and letting it sit for awhile helps get some of the brown stains out.

I just use them until they are shot and throw them away.

(wash them? there just aren't enough hours in the day and they aren't that expensive to replace---I have to add that I saw a darling cover made out of Dolly Dingle fabric at a recent class I attended that someone had made.......)

wash

I throw mine away. I have never thought about washing one.

Me too! In fact I just bought a new one today, but need to wash the old one first. Maybe I'll have time tomorrow to fit this into my schedule,lol!

Spic N Span will work too. Just add to wash water. Your washer will also be nice and clean when cycle is done!

Brown stains?? :shock: I don't use starch, so mine stays clean and soft for ages. The quilting one is just plywood covered with batting for padding, a layer of the silver stuff and sailcloth over it all. Makes it much easier to iron large pieces of fabric.

It's GONE!! With all the material I have, I make a new one. In this case, change is good (I think).

I made one. The cheap cotton ones just didn't cut it for me. And the silver ones are so cheap now. I used heavier fabric duck cloth I think and just added elastic. Its cream colored so I just slip it off when it gets dirty and wash it.
I stapled an old sheet to my big board so that one will have to be pulled apart to change. When I move I am going to see if I can make the set up permanent then I will make one I can take off and wash.

In the garbage for mine.

funny you should ask. I just bought a new one last night. Will put it on top of my old one.

I use a lot of starch, both for piecing and machine applique.

I throw it out and replace it when it's disgusting. There's just something about having a nice, clean, new ironing board cover...makes me happy!

My ironing board was a wedding gift, also, nearly 65 yrs. ago. The cover has been replaced several times. Have often thought of getting an adjustable one, but those I have seen are so wobbly. Think I'll stick to my oldy as it's solid as a rock.

speaking of ironing boards & covers- I bought the neatest small ironing board to go next to my machine at my quilting store the other day. Someone was brilliant enought to cover a folding table (like you buy in sets of 4) w/ padding & reg. ironing board cover, stapled in on. I paid $22.00 for it but talk about handy! Those folding tables are usually sold in sets of 4 for about $30.00. Neat idea tho' cause it folds flat when I don't need it.

Why don't you make one? I've been making my own, out of much prettier fabrics, for years!

you mean like a TV table? What a neat idea

Oh, that really brought back memories. My Mother had one of those and I wish I could find one. It never seemed to wear out and like you said, it reflected the heat. "Thanks for the memories"

Throw away. By the time they are that bad, they are usually scorched in some places too, and have adhesive build up that's difficult to remove. I LOVE a fresh new ironing board cover!

I throw mine out, but I make my own from rubber backed curtain fabric which I pick up from charity shops for next to nothing. The fabric reflects the heat really well. I always make two at a time.

You iron slacks, blouses, etc? What kind of quilter are you, anyway? (LOL). I thought irons were supposed to be dedicated to sewing!

I took a piece of plywood almost 36" square, laid a piece of batting on it then a piece of fabric. Gives more ironing room and keeps the starch off of the ironingboard cover.
Linda

Wash them until they disintegrate.

For starching - the very few times I've done it - I put another layer of fabric over the ironing board cover - so then I can just pick it up and toss it - or put the fabrics to be starched/sized on a cookie sheet and spray them there.

I use my Big Board ironing surface as my cutting table - and my cat also "assists" - so I use a lint roller between washings to get stray stuff off the surface. Cutting lint - cat "lint"

I can outdo her, my ironing board is 66 yrs. old. I got it from my Mom and she got it for a wedding shower gift. My parents celebrated their 66 wedding anniversary last June. I have made a larger board that fits over the top of it for a larger pressing surface for quilting.

I wash mine, but all the new ones say DONT WASH, so I made mine, even the pattern, then I saw a sewing room accessories pattern that has one, can't remember whose pattern at the moment tho.

I have one of those heavy ones with rulers and grid printed on it etc. I priced a new one and decided to try washing it first before I put that kind of money into another one. It washed quite well and also shrunk it a little, so now it fits tighter than it did when it was dirty. Wash it. The worst thing that can happen is it will fall apart and you'll have to get a new one anyway.

I've never washed one. The one I have now has a teflon coating so I don't have much trouble with things sticking to it.