What Water to Use in Your Steam Iron

Written by Charlotte Wood (last updated December 5, 2022)

An iron may just seem like an iron and you use it just for ironing. Some irons are better than others, and some are of a lesser quality, however most irons get the job done and that's understandably where your thought process on ironing halts. However there is a little more to ironing than you initially thought. There are things to consider when ironing and when handling your iron. If you can keep an eye on the kind of water you put into your iron, you'll notice a change in its performance and ultimately how your clothes turn out. You want to use distilled water in your iron. Distilled water is void of hard minerals that are usually present in common tap water, and while minerals in your water don't significantly affect you when you drink it, when you give it to your iron, it could have negative long term effects. Be careful and aware of what you put into your iron. With the hard minerals present in tap water, the minerals will gradually create a mineral buildup in your iron. This isn't a good thing. When you have mineral buildup your iron won't function like it should and could. The steam is prevented from fully escaping and the iron doesn't iron as it should. There are ways to clear up this mineral buildup and that can be done by cleaning the hot plate with a needle or other fine object and then you can put a mixture of vinegar and water in the iron and let it steam out, which will succeed in clearing out the iron so it can function like new! The water you put into your iron does matter and if you disregard that then you could suffer the consequence of an iron that can't function to its full potential. Distilled water is definitely best for ironing, however if you can't afford to buy distilled water just for your iron, then it's not something to worry about. Your iron won't be rendered cripple because you use tap water; it will just not be able to work the most effectively. This isn't that big of a deal, but something you should take not of and fix where you can.

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Charlotte Wood

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