I read somewhere (I think on the Board) that if your iron doesn't get
hot enough to put it somewhere safe and leave it plugged in for
8 hours and something gets regulated and it will be fine after that.
But my iron shuts off automatically. Does anybody know anything
about this?

Hmm....I dunno.
I get the cheap irons. $10 for them. Never have had a problem with them, unless I drop them, then I have to get a new one. :)

I'm with you. I buy the cheapest steam iron I can find, and when it's toast, I get a new one. I bought a very expensive iron (some fancy brand that I can't recall at the moment) and was never so disappointed. So I went back to the ones I like. Two things a MUST. 1) No auto shut off. 2) Teflon sole plate. (Be warned, however, if you have birds in your house, DO NOT use the non-stick iron or cookware!)

M

One of the ABSOLUTE best purchases we have made for our sewing addiction was and is a Rowenta 1750 watt Professional iron. It gets hot quickly makes steam quickly and works every time. It's as reliable as a rock and worth every dime we spent on it. If it went belly up tomorrow I'd walk right out and purchase another just like it. It replaced a higher dollar Panasonic that couldn't get hot enough to burn your finger.

DITTO! I love my Rowenta 1750 watt Pro. Really gets the job done.
I bought mine at JoAnns when the Rowenta irons went on sale;Every once in awhile they put them on sale and you can scarf one up at a very reasonable price.

Is it a rowena? They never get too hot...made for quilting I think...mine finally gave up and I didn't like the auto off feature. It seemed like I was always waiting for it to reheat. I now have a black and decker I love

I have a auto shut off on the iron I use for clothes, it's a Euro Pro but this tip might be for all irons. I found the auto shut off will not work if the iron tip is tilted down when not in use. I have an iron stand that kept the iron at an angle so I turned the stand around and the tip of the iron will face downward when sitting on the stand. The auto shut off doesn't click in at all.

For ironing washed fabric and large cuts I use a $6.98 steam iron bought at Walmart. Works great.
For piecework I use my Rowenta travel iron, it is great for small pieces, not heavy and it has steam. But you do have to put water in it alot cause it is so small.

What about birds?

Don't know if you have an Ollies near you or not, but I just bought a new iron on Friday for $8.99. It's a super nice Black and Decker. I made sure I was getting one that didn't have auto shut off because that's a pain when you are sewing. Any way, I've never heard of leaving one plugged in for 8 hours to fix it.