BettyGee

I have removed the water from my iron and have a nice spray bottle all ready. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and the methods you use. The spitting of water with minerals deposits on my fabric always irritates me no end and I don't want to ruin brand new fabric. Onward and forward with my spray bottle. I am a happy quilter.

momsbusy

I prefer the spray bottle. My irons have all eventually gotten rusty inside and made a mess of my fabric.

gale

spray bottle. I use water, vodka and lavender essential oil. It smells great.

CAS49OR

I use a spray bottle because my new iron never seemed to dry out in the water tank, even after draining it and propping it upside down all weekend. I was worried it would get moldy or stinky and make my fabric or ironing board stink. I love the new iron though -- a cordless Panasonic NI-WL600. It's so easy to use and the steam feature worked great! It heats up fast and stays hot a long time, no spitting of steam when I was using it in there.

Also, I put a little unscented Best Press in my spray bottle. I think it makes the fabric nicer.

gale

That happened to me the last time I used an iron with water in it. That was it for me. It was on a light colored block too and the stains did not come out.

HouseDragon

The very first time I used my el cheapo iron from WallyWorld, I filled it with tap water as instructed. When I finished pressing a mound of new pre-washed fabric for my next quilt, I carefully drained the water out as instructed and left it on the bathroom countertop upside down to dry.

The next day the empty water tank was filled with a kazillion little black "grease" ants! Rinse, drain: repeat umpteen times. There was one last (dead) ant floating around while I pressed for months.

Now I use a spray bottle ......

Pete

What is your recipe?

I have an Oliso --- the directions state it is recommended that you fill it with water. I emailed them, as I like to iron dry, and the answer was "it is recommended...etc." Anyone use it dry without problems?

maggie_1936

I couldn't quilt without my steam irom

gramma nancy

The directions for my new cordless iron said not to use chemically softened water. Since that's all we have, I use a spray bottle, though I never did before. I have found that it is not much of a chore and I sort of like it since I can vary the amount of water (and therefore steam) to suit my needs.

ctrysass2012

My iron is a GE from 1978. It has fallen a couple of times & started squealing when I would use steam. Started using it dry with a spray bottle about 17 yrs. ago, no more squeals. Had an Oliso in 2007 that worked for a few months & then the 'feet' started popping out & in while I was ironing so I went back to the GE. I have found a few vintage irons at the thrift store with the flat sole plate that are nice but quite heavy.