One of the most used appliance at my place is our Philips Comfort HI-265 steam iron. No prizes for guessing that I have a review on it already.
But what my intentions are now, is to tell you that even an iron needs a lot of maintenance - especially those that steam when hot and angry. ’’Give me Steam’’, I sing imitating Peter Gabriel, while I do this mundane activity that don’t thrill me - both ironing and then maintaining the iron.
«« CORD »»
Much to no ones surprise, is my discovery that the weakest link in steam irons is the cord. It gets entangled. I tend to sit on the floor and iron comfortably, rather than use a table arrangement. Also the plug is right at the top. The result is a pulling force on the cord with a likely disconnection at the terminals. But setting the connections right is not some hardship or a reason that justifies taking the help of a service center, particularly cause I am an Electrical Engineer myself. The other major problem is that the cord comes in the way during ironing and the threads surrounding the wire gets burned and come off eventually exposing the PVC insulated wires. These develop cuts and then the bare wire is exposed. This also happens because our cord is very long and with time has developed certain bends. This bends are stressed regions that crack the insulation. So now everyone is vulnerable to get a nice ’’shock’’ treatment. Maintenance in this case comes to replacing the cord. Ultimately I replaced the cord with a shorter one and brought a power extension unit. This way it is much better.
«« VENTS »»
The second problem I face is after a few days of sheer negligence, when I am steam ironing; my impatience results in me starting to iron before the desired temperature is reached. This often causes some leakage from the steam vents below. So I have certain wet streaks along my shirt and it looks all dirty and muddy. The problem - dirt/dust clogged steam vents. Now how to clean these? Two ways.
1) I take a damp cloth and clean the sole plate. No abrasive or rough material here. I take a little thin rod or stick and wrap it with a damp cloth and then try cleaning the vents or the grooves.
2) The other is self-cleaning feature of my HI-265. I turn the steam knob to ’’de-scaling’’ position. Pulling the valve out sends the steam hissing out from the vents. Of course the iron has to be ON. The gushing out steam also cleans the pores in the process. The valve is dipped in white vinegar for some time to dissolve the scales and mineral deposits.
«« WATER TANK »»
It is often not advisable to fill water in the tank while the iron is plugged to the supply. For non-detachable tanks, water can be filled in the inlet directly from the tap. The water force and spraying from the tap is unreliable, and can wet the iron beyond permissible. The effect can be the same as dipping the iron in bucket to fill it with water - ARRGS! One can use a cup or the special vessel often provided by the OEMs, with a nozzle arrangement, to gently fill the water. In my case, the detachable water tank saves all the trouble. For draining, simply invert the iron.
«« CLOTH V/S TEMPERATURE »»
This is more regarding the selection of temperature settings for a particular type of cloth. Trying to iron silk cloth with temperature setting on linen (very hot), can soil the silk clothes and suddenly the cloth sticks to the sole plate. Most irons have a label or chart indicating the choice of settings for the clothes. All that is required from our end is following that table religiously. Of course, if the type of cloth is not known, we can always start at lower temperatures.
«« OTHER ASPECTS »»
Do not store iron in vertical position when not in use, as it may tip and fall on the sole plate causing abrasions or some such damage.
Do not keep hot iron horizontally on the cloth and go away for satisfying ’’natural urges’’.
Remove water from tank as soon as ironing is over.
Don’t wind the cord around the iron while it is still hot
Avoid ironing on buttons or some sharp object as the coating on sole plate may be scratched off.
This is all I could produce off hand. But I may add some more points as it strikes me. I would urge readers to leave their experiences or further maintaining tips in the comment section. I hope I have been some help.