My iron bit the dust......
 

Last night I was patching a pair of slacks that had worn thin between the legs. I was using some Steam-A-Seam to patch the new fabric on the inside of the leg. First patch went fine. Then something happened to my iron. It heated up to infinity and beyond. When I went to iron the next patch to the pants leg, my iron just touched the fabric (polyester) and it melted like a stick of butter.........all over my iron...!!!!

I was able to clean the iron ok but of course the slacks are toast so in the garbage they went. No loss really, I wanted to get some new slacks anyway. Patching was only to see if the slacks could last a few months longer.

Anyway, back to the iron. Just to finish cleaning of the last bits of crud on the soleplate I turn on the iron and ...... it's ka-put! I plugged the iron in a different outlet, turned the iron on and off, nothing. It's heating element just stopped working.

I will admit I was working on a quilt top yesterday that needed every piecing seam pressed after each one was sewn. Lots of up and down of the iron. I guess after a few months of heavy duty use, it just said....no more! I only spent $20 so I feel like I got my money's worth.

I guess a new iron is now on my Christmas list from Santa. Since I'm my own Santa, I'll be shopping for another one this week.

Kmart - hear I come! Have lots of points to spend there so I could get it for free!! Yeah!

Just glad to hear it did OK on your quilt and ruined something more easily replaceable!

I found $6 steam irons at Walmart. I bought five. So far I'm going on 13 months with the first one. They are so cheap that one spit or sputter it goes in the trash. Dollar General has them too for $9. We use the GD ones at guild. They get heavy use and still going strong. I have had Rowenta and Reliable. Good irons but both sputtered after a year or two. I'd rather toss a $6 iron then a $100 iron. My Black and Decker Classic iron is for my big steam pressing jobs . I also have the dry Continental iron for fusibles. And a small travel iron. DH's old Sunbeam heavy iron is in the laundry room. I guess I'm not going to be without an iron for a very long time. LOL

Glad you didn't ruin a new pair of pants!! My Rowenta started sputtering so I find I am using starch instead. Good Luck and have fun shopping !!

WalMart had my iron for under $10.00. It's going on 2 years and doing fine. (Hope I didn't jinx it. lol--I don't want to go to the store today) I only bought one, but so far it's doing as well as the expensive ones. It's a Black and Decker and hasn't melted anything yet.
Sue

i have the black and decker digital all temp piece of crap.

it's great while it works, but it's tippy, so i needed to install a proper iron rack for it to prevent it jumping off a board at the slightest bump. and then it decides not to work one day. just...stops.

this is the third one under warranty form canadian tire and it will be out of the replacement period in a month. i won't be buying another one like this, though why digital interfaces are needed on small appliances like crock pots on iron i will never understand. switches work really well you know?

aileen

I checked a couple of times but, our Walmart does not handle the cheap irons. They have not had them for several months. They do have the pricier ones.

BellaBoo,
I'm with you on the $6. Walmart irons. I really do like mine and have been using it for months now and it still is working like a champ. Like you, went through 2 Rowenta irons (both expensive) and the thought of throwing out the $6. one doesn't bother me near as much as the $159. one.

I found a brand new Black & Decker at Goodwill this summer for $8. So far, so good. It's lightweight so doesn't bother my wrists but heavy enough not to tip over. Given the choice between iron money and fabric money ,I know my choice!!!

I'm so glad your iron chose old pants to "give up the ghost" on!

My Black & Decker is probably 10+ years old, works great and is a basic model. Hope I haven't jinxed it. It has a metal (vs non-stick) soleplate, steams well. The only glitch it sometimes has it will quit steaming. I have found if I twist the dial down to no steam, I will hear a click, then I can rotate it back up and it steams. It wasn't an expensive one, about $20. I had previously (pre quilting days) had a more expensive one with the non stick soleplate etc and it didn't last 10 years.