I have a pressure iron/steamer in which I use bottled water (distilled water is a no-no, but don't want to use tap water either). Bottled is only $1.00/gallon and, no, I do not empty the reservoir each time, although it is "recommended".

I have an Oliso and never empty it. Use it everyday (almost) and it drinks RO water.

Never really thought about it. I'm real bad to just open up things and throw away the box. I'm sure it is because water might rust the inner chambers of the iron and cause damage. Not to mention coming out and stain your cloth. It's probably one of those good ideas that we never think about doing.

I use distilled water and also use my iron everyday. I iron everything....yes, I'm one of those...LOL I've never emptied it and I've had the same iron for over 5 years. I hope I didn't just jinx myself....

I have an Oliso and I do not empty the water after each use. If I know I'm not going to be quilting and ironing for a while I do empty it then. A lot of irons do not require distilled water. I found that out by reading the instructions. I put distilled water in my old iron and it spit all over the place, same thing happened with the Oliso.

Rhonda

I never have emptied my iron on a regular basis. Maybe that is why they stop working. I do use distilled water, but only a couple weeks back I was watching (Fons & Porter I think) and she had a guest from Oliso. He said to never use distilled water and to just use water that you would drink. The only water he said not to use is real hard water. He was not too clear on the recommendation. I did not understand why distilled water is not good. He just said not to use it. Period.

Ditto. I never use water.

I recently saw and Love of Quilting episode about Irong and they said never to use distilled water in your iron. They didn't say why. I have never emptied my irons and don't seem to have any problems. One thing you could do is use bottled or filtered water to lessen the amount of minerals in the water.
Bev

Well, maybe I'll try using just bottled water for my new Oliso. I also have 5 Rowentas in the closet I use for my artwork because they all sputter Terribly. I was told by the company to use half distilled and half tap water for for them. Didn't work! I Really Have to have an iron that steams, just the water bottle won't do it for me. Time will tell. I don't think the cheapies will do if if you garment sew, too. They probably don't get hot enough.

I have always emptied my iron after I get through with it for the day. I suspect that some of the problems people are having with their Rowenta irons is that they don't empty them. All the manuals I have ever read, including the ones for my GE and my Black and Decker say empty them.

My irons-GE and Rowenta at the moment-say to use tap water. They specifically warn against softened water. I use reverse osmosis water and have for years, but would not hesitate to use tap water.

All metal will corrode if left in standing water long enough. My neighbor left water in her iron for several weeks while she was out of town and when she got home, the iron was ruined.

Of course, she left hers flat instead of on its heel, so that might have made a difference.

The chemicals in the water settle and collect in the steam orifices if you leave water in the iron very long. It doesn't take but a minute to empty it, so play it safe and follow the directions.
froggyintexas