Water for your irons
 

I bought a brand new eureka iron a couple of months ago. The instructions said to use distilled water for the iron. Well I've been using tap water that is hooked up to a water softener. I noticed that it looks as if I am getting rust coming out of the steam holes. I have used the self cleaning setting on the iron. But once in a while I am getting rust spots on my fabrics. What would be a good solution. I don't want to constantly buy jugs of distilled water just for my iron.

Sorry, But, I have heard that using the distilled water helps.

I now use it exclusively in my Iron. And, I find it works very well. But, if I use starch, I find I get those little spots as well. Could yours be from your starch? I also have to buy it for one of my dogs also. He gets bladder stones. So, I always have distilled water on hand.

I'm lucky that the area I live in has good water and I can use water direct from the tap if I choose. I do prefer, however, to use water that has sat overnight or been boiled first to get the chlorine out. If you do have hard water or anything that stains or leaves spots, you are best off with distilled water. It's cheap enough that when you compare the cost of a good iron to a year's worth of water -- get the water! Water softeners often work with salt so that can leave a crust/spot. It's not that bad a thing to get, you just put it on the grocery list.

I gave up and now use a spray bottle to mist my fabrics.

so do i....

Soft water is good for your pipes, but not much else. It contains sodium and other things that can clog the iron and cause brown spots on your fabric. Watering plants with it will kill them. You might be able to use tap water from your garden hose, because that water won't have gone through the softener. If I use steam in my iron, I use distilled water, but generally I spray the fabric and use a dry iron.

timely thread for me. Both of the more recent irons I've bought (need both up and down stairs) say in instructions not to use distilled water. But we have such "hard" water that I've been working on one of my steam irons trying to get the mineral deposits out now for about a week--I did find a product that is made to run through your steam iron to get the gunk out--but I still have it bubbling out of the steam holes so don't want that on my fabric. Has anyone used vinegar in their irons to clean out mineral build-up?

My iron started spitting and hissing too. Luckily, it was on the muslin scrap and not on the quilt for Christmas. That iron is now retired. I’ll use a spray bottle with water for misting now with the new iron.

My Oliso said to use bottled spring water or filtered water