i have a bad habit of leaving the water in my iron. naturally, the time came when it was all clogged and in desperate need of cleaning. so i employed the time honored method of filling it with vinegar and water. not an instant fix, but the gunk eventually cleared away.

then, someone recently recommended vinegar in the water as a way to get those stubborn creases out of fabric off the bolt. (which means it's also great for pressing of all kinds.)

i have also noted that a lot of quilters seem to worry about attracting bugs if they starch their fabs before storage. which reminded me that when i was in the Army and sometimes had to spend days or weeks "camping" in the local swamp, i'd swallow two tablespoons of ... you guessed it ... vinegar every morning. the result no chigger bites, and very little bother from the mosquitos.

sooooo ... since vinegar water will clean and iron, make pressing more precise, and repel nasty chiggers and skeeters ... i have started automatically filling my iron with a 50/50 solution of vinegar water. my iron stays clean, pressing is easier, and i'll bet it wouldn't attract bugs in storage. (can't test that one. my son stays on bug patrol around here, so we don't have any.)

smells a bit on the awful side at the ironing board, but it disappears by the time i get back to the sewing table. just thought i'd share.

Oh, I'm excited that we are starting a "what all can vinegar do" thread!!! I loved the Vick's one...learned a lot. Patrice, that is a great tip about the iron...didn't think of that one. I do clean my coffee maker with vinegar/water mixture frequently though (we have well water). I also keep a spray bottle of vinegar to soak down the hard water stains in the bathroom...takes a little while, but I don't mind sewing while I wait :wink:

I was told adding some to our whirlpool tub would keep the jets clean, so would think that it might work in the iron???? Do you think if I added it to my coffee every morning I would never have to clean my coffeemaker??
:lol: :lol:

I use it straight for mildew and mold....I'll try a shot of it this spring for the black flies :D

i think you'd be the only one in the house who would drink your coffee. :lol: :lol: :lol:

We have VERY hard water here in Spain, and I use white vinegar to clean the kettle every week :D

Patrice, my iron was playing up so I decided to add vinegar, boy did I make a mess, I have no idea HOW much gunk was in the iron, but it came out so rusty coloured.. I changed the water over and over, kept using the burst of steam and thought I would never get it back to normal it was disgusting, I might try adding vinegar at every fill.....thanks for the tip!!

Never thought about putting it into the iron. I'm not sure how DH will react the first time he reaches for the iron and the smell comes out. :lol:

Great idea. Off to mix a jug up and keep to fill iron with.

Very interesting. Gonna try it!

You laugh but my boss does this at work (she owns a Chinese restaurant) and no one has ever seemed to notice the tiny squirt of vinegar mixed in with the water. <shrugs> I don't drink coffee so I don't have the personal experience to tell you whether or not it taste funny.

Patrice, just how much vinegar are you adding to your iron at one time? I am completely intrigued with this idea and I think I am going to try it. I am assuming you are using distilled vinegar and not the apple cider vinegar, which I would think would leave stains. :lol:
Piece ~ Tiffany