I clean my iron with vinegar about every 6 months. Use white vinegar. I set mine on high steam, set the iron on the trays I use to cool cookies. Put a towel under the cookie trays to catch the steam. My iron is a Black and Decker.

I only spray water on fabrics,quilts,blocks. Never put water in my irons.

My Hamilton Beach iron said to use tap water, but I've only used reverse osmosis or distilled and it works perfectly. It is 3 or years old.

I always use distilled and my irons last about 10 years. The water is really cheap - less than $1 per gallon.

I bought a Black & Decker corded iron a good 30 years ago. Instructions said to use distilled water, which I always have. My iron is still going strong, no problems at all. I also use distilled water in my Panasonic cordless iron.

My Oliso iron said to use bottled spring water. And not to use distilled. I had used distilled on the previous Oliso and it died.

Do yourself a favor and use the water the instructions say. It will make your iron last much longer and perform better. I know many folks here are not fans but I am a Rowenta girl. I've had 2. One said to use distilled, the other tap. It does make a difference in the lifespan and performance.

Distilled water is not that expensive and can easily picked up in the grocery store on your regular shopping trips. That's what I do at least.

I have read that distilled water should not be used-I use water that comes through a filter in my refrigerator. In the past, I had a filter that had been made to use with irons. You just filled the reservoir with tap water, let it go down through the filtering material, squeeze the sides of the plastic container and into the iron. It worked well and the material used for the filtering agent could be replaced. It disappeared somewhere in a move. I don't know if this type of gadget is available now.

i have a Oliso iron and only use spring water.

VERY hard water here... I tried distilled water, but found it just to bothersome to buy - now I'm just using a spray bottle, too!