How to clean your iron with aluminum foil: It’s so easy and quick to get it clean and prevent your clothes from getting dirty!

Many people iron their clothes to make the laundry nice and smooth and wrinkle-free. If you iron your clothes and other textiles regularly, don’t forget to clean your iron. Because from time to time it gets dirty and should be cleaned. But how do you clean the iron? You can do this with home remedies, for example you can clean your iron with aluminum foil. Read on to learn our tips!

Why does the iron get dirty in the first place?

When ironing, the iron inevitably comes into contact with detergents or fabric softener residues. Fats and lime deposits can also put a lot of strain on the iron. Due to the high temperatures, they stick to the iron and not only damage it, but also the textiles to be ironed. Remnants of materials such as plastic fibers can also affect the performance of the iron. As soon as you see dirt on your iron, you should clean it before using it again. Otherwise, the burned-in residues can leave stains on your laundry that can no longer be removed.

How to clean your iron with aluminum foil?

When cleaning your iron, you should never use cleaning products that affect the surface. So stay away from salt or abrasive cleaners! If in doubt, it is advisable to read the instructions for use to find out how to clean it. A tried-and-tested household remedy for removing dirt from an iron is aluminum foil.

And this is how it works:

Tear off a large piece of aluminum foil from the roll and place it on a towel, matte side up. Heat your iron to maximum temperature.

For steam irons: Do not use the steam function to clean your iron with aluminum foil. Iron over the aluminum foil for about five minutes. This will cause the dirt from your iron to settle on the aluminum foil. Repeat the process if all the residue did not stick to the aluminum foil on the first pass. However, use a new piece of aluminum foil to do this.

Descale the steam iron when cleaning

When cleaning a steam iron, clean the water tank to remove or prevent scale build-up. Limescale can also damage your laundry. In addition, the steam nozzles of the steam iron clog over time. You can prevent limescale contamination on your textiles when ironing by only using distilled water for the steam iron and emptying and drying the water tank completely after ironing.

For descaling, you can either follow the manufacturer’s instructions for use or you can descale your steam iron with home remedies such as vinegar or lemon.

Descaling the steam iron with vinegar: Mix vinegar and water in a ratio of 1:2 and pour the solution into the iron’s tank. Heat the device and let the cleaning agent work for about five to ten minutes. Then empty the water tank and rinse it well.

Descaling the steam iron with lemon: Mix lukewarm water with lemon juice without pulp and pour the mixture into the water tank of the steam iron. Do not switch on the iron, otherwise crystallization may occur. Place the iron in a bowl filled about an inch high with the same mixture overnight. The next morning, rinse the tank with distilled water.

How to clean the steam holes

Of course you also need to clean the steam holes. It’s also a simple process, and here’s how to do that!

• First, unplug the iron and turn it off.
• Mix 1 cup distilled water and 1 cup white vinegar.
• Pour this mixture into the steam tank of the iron.
• Plug in the iron, turn on the steam function, and let it run until the mixture evaporates. Supervise your iron during this process.
• Turn off the iron, unplug the power cord and allow it to cool until it is only slightly warm.
• Use cotton swabs to wipe out any remaining residue in the holes.