Two questions: about spray starch and about cordless irons
 

Hi,
I have noticed when I use spray starch it turns the bottom of my iron brown. Should I be spraying on one side and ironing on the back? Any insight into what I am doing wrong?

I also realized because of my set up, a cordless iron would be a great advantage.
I was wondering if those who use one have any recommendations as to which ones are great or not so great?

Thanks

My opinion is that likely you spray too much starch on from too close. It's best to spray lightly, press, then , if you think you need it, repeat.Also consider changing brands ( l find Niagara works well.) Lastly, your iron may be way too hot...sometimes an older iron's thermostat fails to function properly.

I am also in Ontario! Thanks for the suggestions. Will certainly consider those points. Thanks again

Another Ontarian jumping in here! :)

Starch ... I used to use it and abandoned it.
Starch does just what you have found. Watch your ironing board too.
Then ... someday, you may find a white fabric that looks dirty and guess what? Yup, the starch!

Instead .... I use Best Press. Most any of the LQS' sell it.
It does the job and I don't get the scorching issues.


Iron ... have never tried a cordless. I've heard mixed reviews.
When my iron needed replacing I went for an Oliso.
A bit pricey, but worth every bit, IMHO!

Good Luck!

This is how I was brought up on how to starch. When your iron gets all gunky, it's because when you’re ironing, instead of ironing the fabric, you were ironing the starch. I starch every piece of fabric(right side) I'm going to work with, at least 2 hours ahead of the time, throw it in a plastic bag, and let it sit, then I'll take it out, either line dry or throw in the dryer for a few minutes, then iron(wrong side), have never had a problem with the iron getting all gunky. I do spray mist with water since I don't use the steam on my iron.

My opinion is that most of us are an impatient lot and we spray and press to quickly. The starch needs time to soak "into" the fabric rather than "on" it. The gunk on the iron is essentially the starch sticking there instead of the fabric.

i have a very hot iron i put another piece of cotton over my block after starching saves cleaning the iron
Gale

I have had the Panasonic cordless iron for about 5 years now. I absolutely love the freedom of No Cord! I have no problems with it. I will never go back to an iron with a cord. Most of my ironing now is done for my quilting and sewing, and I have no complaints. My cordless iron is one of my best investments.

Love my Panasonic cordless iron.

Your post answered my own question about starch - turns out I'm one of the impatient ones! Thanks for the question. On another note, I too have to Panasonic 360 cordless and I love mine. Won't use any other one.

I find if I'm using spray starch I'll spray on the backside, let it set in before pressing on the top side. I find I get little to no residue on the bottom my iron this way. Letting it soak into the cloth helps too.

I also love my Panasonic cordless iron. DD has one also and loves it.

Great thread and excellent tips and suggestions.

Don't have any advice as to how to use starch. But to get the brown stuff off you iron, you need to let it cool and clean with a Mr. Clean eraser. It works fast and take everything off completely.

For those of you who said that you loved your cordless Panasonic would you share what model(s) you are using. I am so close to ordering one with ceramic sole plate. Yes, my iron now is so yucky because I am not patient enough also.

I started using spray starch a few years ago and always tried to remember to clean my iron and sometimes I would forget. And since I was ironing shirts for my DH to wear to work I could not have the marks it could leave. So somewhere on this board someone wrote that they use the Mr. Clean Magic eraser on the cold iron and it worked well. Gave it a try and sure enough it worked. But someone else wrote they kept the "used" dryer sheets and ever so often while ironing they would run the iron over the dry sheet kept on the ironing board. I started doing that and have not need to use the Magic eraser since. I just leave it on the end of my ironing board and spray it with a bit of water and run the hot iron over it. Mr friend thought I was crazy but it cleaned up her iron quite a bit too.

I tried it out of desperation because I needed to iron a shirt and didn't have any iron cleaner. The salt and brown bag did not work for me but the Magic Eraser worked. Not as much as I had hoped though so bought a new iron and kept it clean since. I was worried the heat of the iron would melt the dryer sheet but it didn't. The Magic Eraser is on a cold iron.

That's a good idea. If you don't have the Mr. Clean eraser, try a used, moistened dryer sheet.

I never use spray starch or best press. If I need to remove wrinkles I just spray with water from my little bottle.

Best Press is spray starch. The reason why you don't get scorching or brown stuff on your iron is because Best Press has added surfactants to make the starch absorb into the fabric faster and easier.

Try spraying the starch, then either let it sit for a few minutes, or if you're like me and can't wait, spray a fine mist of water on top. The water will help the starch absorb into the fabric and you won't get the brown flakes.

I have Best Press to use but do use water more often. I have a Panasonic 360 that I purchased 3-4 yrs ago & love it. I am tempted to buy another if I found it on sale. The only corded iron i would use is a small travel iron.

I always spray the starch on the wrong side, let dry, very important step, then iron on right side. I hang my fabric over a drying rack. I have never seen a dirty iron from this process. Mine gets dirty from other stuff. I have yet to find a good iron. Good luck on that one.

Had the issue w/brown on iron also until I read let your fabric sit for 10 mins after spraying. I now do that and no issues. I spray and then roll it up and pat it to make sure soaks in...wait 10 and iron...I too have been researching cordless irons and seems all the reviews above are the same as Top cordless Irons...Panasonic...

Panasonic NI-L70SRW Cordless Iron is the model I have.

Ditto!!!!!!

I have the panasonic cordless iron. Its great and works very well. As far as starch, I use best press. Some tips on starching I read, always starch on the back of the fabric, and warm up the fabric before you spray, it helps the starch to absorb better. I always starch before I cut as sometimes you will get shrinkage when the fabric is starched.

Cordless Iron questions .......
How long does it stay hot, before needing to go to its charging station?
If it is "drained" how long before it is fully charged?

For example ... when pressing a finished quilt, or the backing ... it could be off the charger for a long time.

Thank you!

I use spray starch any time I need to get rid of fold creases in the fabric and have never had a problem. Faultless is my go to brand. And I started using it rather than Best Press because I am cheap! Could be that I do not use a lot of starch only what is necessary to remove the wrinkle.

I have the Panasonic NI-WL600. It is just the right size for quilt blocks and comes with its own carrying case. I love it.

I use the Panasonic-NI-L70SRW with my longarm and the Panasonic-NI-WL602 next to my sewing machine for piecing. Love them both.

I have the Panasonic 360 Freestyle it says NI-WL600 on it. I love it for piecing especially.

The cordless irons I've seen don't have a battery in them; they are similar to cordless kettles with a base that allows them to heat up. The initial heat-up time is about the same as a corded iron. As soon as you take it off the base, it quits "adding" heat; you just get the heat that is in the iron. I find that if I'm ironing yardage, I can do a whole ironing board worth, and the iron will stay hot. Then I sit it on the base while I reposition the fabric, and it's ready to go for the next length. Basically, any time you put it down, instead of setting it on its end, you put it on the base. You can iron for hours that way.

Thanks Jennifer23 ... for the explanation as to how it works and your experiences.
The cool down time and re-heat time had always been what I had wondered about.

All good to know .... and hoping this does not jinx things that I need an iron any time soon!

I do appreciate all your informative replies!!!! You are all super wonderful!

I do appreciate all your informative replies!!!! You are all super wonderful!
I ended up ordering panasonic WL600. It was much less than the other cordless 360 ones! Was tempted to try the cordless one that was not 360 but it still was over $100.00. It looked to be light green with a standard shaped sole plate. Hope I made the right choice!

They are somewhat cheaper in the USA but cost more in Canada (amazon.ca) because of exchange or heaven knows why!

The owner of Panasonic cordless iron here. I have Panasonic NI-WL602 model I really love. The fact that it’s cordless and lightweight lets you tomaneuver easier. It heats up quickly and keeps the temperature well. Here is the review on it https://pickadvisor.org/best-cordless-iron/

Panasonic cordless 360...and your over spraying and not waiting long enough for it to soak into the fabric. They recommend waiting 10 mins before ironing...Works for me.

I have the cordless Panasonic, too. Not having a cord is a great feature, but my go to iron is an old T-Fal corded. I've had many irons, gravity feed and many of the other expensive corded irons. I find there's a lot of fiddling with the cordless Panasonic: it turns off, have to adjust to make sure it's hot enough. My sewing machine and design boards are all in reach of my corded iron and I can rely on it's being heated. I also think the Panasonic doesn't get as hot. So, I would base your decision on how important not having a cord is.

I agree with this. My iron used to gunked up and I'd have to clean it regularly. Now I spray the starch on my fabric and then let it sit. Then I press from the opposite side that I sprayed on. I rarely have problems getting brown gunky starch on the bottom of my iron now.