Water Myths
 

Should distilled water be used in those nice yellow irons that pop up on their own? Thanks!

I don't have an answer to your question directly, but here is what I have decided about irons and water. All of them, the best of the will eventually spit water after they get old. I went through a couple of very expensive irons when I gave up, bought me a cheap iron at Walmart and use a spray bottle for water and use the iron without water inside of it. (Just dry.) My daughter buys irons from the Goodwill. I am sure there ended up there because they leaked water, but she uses them dry with a spray bottle. She thinks the older irons are hotter.
I know you want a pop up iron, and they do look great! Good luck with your new iron.

I don't own an Oliso iron, but any irons that have the anti-calc feature should use tap water. And RS is right except that I've heard the Reliable brand irons are specially designed & do not spit. But they don't pop up off the fabric.

That's an interesting point. I haven't heard of the Reliable Brand. May have some research to do. What is the BEST iron you ever had/purchased?

The best iron I've ever had is an old Sunbeam I paid 5 bucks for at Goodwill. It's heavy, gets HOT fast and doesn't shut off every time I walk away. I've had it for years and wouldn't trade it for anything.

Cari

There was a thread about this which a woman (can't remember who) did extensive research and it boiled down to using """""filtered""""" water, not distilled even tho the iron companies say to.
Filtered from your tap with say a 'brita type' filter. I said brita because at the moment that is all I can think of.

I bought a Rowenta from Bed, Bath & Beyond that was pretty decent. The manual actual said in all caps "Do not use distilled water as it can damage this iron". After maybe 8-9 years, it recently died so I will soon be shopping for a new iron. My SIL had a Reliable iron (they now use a Reliable steamer) and I'm seriously considering buying one of those for my next "iron". I also have a Clover II mini iron for appliqué.

I found this information but could not copy the internet address. The inventor said the following:

Ehsan – Special Guest
11/22/2010 3:29 PM

We do not recommend distilled water for any irons.The safest would be to use either bottled drinking water or filtered water which has taken the hard minerals out.

I tried again so here it the post, 7th one is his answer:
https://www.thegrommet.com/oliso-smart-steam-iron

I use tap water but put it thru a Brita water filter for my Rowenta.

The oliso iron info says to use tap water or bottled water.

this is what i do, also

I go between water in the iron and a spray bottle. I have a black and decker digital advantage which I like better than the rowenta. I kind of remember those references recommending filtered water saying tap water around the world is different so no telling what a comparison of tap water from California, New York City (think Flint, Michigan) or any other place would show. Probably different set of minerals and I guess no iron could be configured to work consistently with any or all versions of tap water.

I used bottled drinking water in my iron without problem. It never spit or leaked. It was a GE. Notice that I used the past tense of the verb because it died yesterday! There was a "pop" and the cord detatched from the base unit. We unplugged it from the wall very quickly!. Today, I will shop for a new one. It will be another cheap one with auto shut-off. I have had two expensive irons in the past and both rusted, spit, leaked and stained.

The owners manual should say - if you don't have the t visit their website. My newest iron stated to Not use distilled water, that it would cause it to leak, my older iron needed distilled.so, I'm guessing some do, some don't. I tend to just keep a spray bottle of water & not put water in my iron, they always seem to start leaking, spitting, sputtering.

Thank you for posting this! I'm off to empty my lil yellow wonder!!

no it says so in the manual. I had my rowenta ruined by distilled water. Now it can no longer even hold water

I've just gotten in the habit of using a spray bottle with warm water. I keep it in a 'koozie" Makes a difference

I'm using my second Black & Decker Classic iron. They do last for years before they give up or leak. I do use filtered water in mine. I also like that the iron has a little weight to it. :)

I use nursery water for my two GE irons.....will have to read the label to see if that's just filtered or distilled. How about softened water?......

spring water.

When I'm done for the day, I always "dump" the water out and leave that little cover open for the water area to "breathe".....Does everyone dump their water out? It seems to me that if I leave the water in there, it leaks out onto the ironing board. Maybe it's my iron, but it's an extra step I do to keep it working. What does everyone else do?

I have the Reliable Digital Advantage V100 and love it. The best steam ever (although I don't always use steam) and it can't leak. I had a Rowenta that died within warranty, had the worst experience imaginable with the only authorized Rowenta service center in the western US, and then the repaired Rowenta also died, just out of warranty.

Add me to the list who dry iron with a spray bottle.

I'm suppose to dump the water, but I just leave it in. When I use my iron throughout the day it annoys me to have to keep putting water in the iron.

I have 2 Rowentas that are just approaching 20 years old, one steam iron and one steam generator. Neither has ever given me a bit of trouble and I dread the day they die. They don't make anything like they used to!

What water have you used in them?

I read an article by nancy zieman and she suggests filtered water in all irons. Even though Rowent said to use spring water, I'm going with what she said.

I LOVE my Reliable Maven. The water tank holds 3.5 cups of water. It gets hot too.

Sandy

I love my Rowenta. I did have one I hated, it leaked and then had a spectacular steam up and "pop" it died (at 3 years old). But I had a spare I'd bought used (for $1.00) and had to clean up of brown gunk. I've now been using it over 5 years with no issues. Mine was made in Germany. I think there are more problems with the "made in China" ones. I use bottled spring water, not tap water as we are on a well and our water has a lot of iron. We have a softener, but that adds salt so I don't know if that would be good either. I could get out the brita pitcher and filter my own water for it, hadn't thought of that.

NoraB, l also dump after each use. l learned to do this in home ec. years ago.My irons last forever, and l use the filtered water out of my little drinking water tap in kitchen...l just fill a bottle of it & take to my sewing room.

I have no luck with irons non seem to last long. I think it is because they don't bounce very well. Now a days I have 2 cheap steam irons which I use dry and spray water or best press on the fabric.

I live in the country and have well water. It is not too bad for water that comes from the ground! But I only put bottled water in my Rowenta. This is my 3rd Rowenta in 20 years, this one does not spit yet. Love steam!!

I love those irons too. Very heavy and they press the seams flat.

I have been ironing for about 60 years and I have NEVER knowingly used distilled water in an iron and my irons last for years. I periodically fill my iron with white vinegar, let it sit and heat well, then hold the iron so it steams profusely. I push every button that pumps water through the iron. Then I empty the iron, fill it with cold water, and do the same thing all over again. If I still smell vinegar, I rinse with water a second time.

Me too...me too, Cari. Old Sunbeam from Salvation Armani. Hot and Heavy. Hooked it to a lamp, so I can'T accidentally leave it on. Love it.

I am a dry iron and spray bottle person too.

I have a Sunbeam that I bought at the thrift store (or maybe at a rummage sale) at least 10 years ago, maybe 20. I have always used distilled water in it. The directions say to use tap water and rinse the water tank with salt water periodically. I have done that about twice. I have hard water from my well, which tastes wonderful, but I won't use it in my iron.

I also have a brand new Black and Decker iron sitting on the shelf still in the box. I had thought I would be prepared if my Sunbeam would quit, but it's going strong. It has a very long cord which I finally figured out how to get out of my way. I hung it from a hook near the ceiling on a piece of elastic. It comes with me when I need it and goes away when I'm finished.

I don't put water in my iron anymore. The instructions say to drain it out every time I'm done, and that is a bother. I have some vinegar and water in a spray bottle now.

Long ago when I purchased my Rowenta, it said any water could be used except distilled. We moved to calcium rich water and sometimes that works fine, adn sometimes not. So after looking at new irons, I've decided to keep the Rowenta and use it dry. I'll go to a spray bottle of water if needed, but the heat out of the Rowenta is great and the iron is somewhat heavy, so I'll keep it!

My Oliso manual says to use bottled or filtered water.

I always get the cheapest iron that has steam at Walmart or Target for about $6 on sale, I have a nasty habit of dropping an iron about every 5-6 years, so i buy cheap. if i was to buy a pricey iron, i'd put distilled water in it. I don't have to worry about it with a $6 iron, but i do put filtered water in my irons.