(NAPSA)—Does your iron have mysterious brown stains on the soleplate that you can’t remove? If so, you're not alone—it’s perfectly normal to get build-wp on the soleplate of an iron, particularlyif you use it frequently. This build-up reduces the ghde, makes it harder to iron and adds unnecessary time to the process. What most people don’t know is where these stains core froma and how easyit is to remove them without damaging the soleplate. Yaking The Mystery Out OF Soleplate Stains The stains on the bottom of your iron can be caused by a number of things: * Starch build-up: If you use starch and don’t let it absorb into the clothing before youstart pressing, most ofit will end wp on your iron rather than on your clothes. You can avoid this problem by spraying the reverse side of the garment you're about to iron with starch and roll it up into a ball for one-two minutes so the starch has a chance to he absorbed. If you hear a sizzling sound when you touch the hot iron to the starched garment, you didn’t allow the starch enough time to be absorbed. * Detergent and fabric softener build-wo: The detergent and fabric softener you use in the laundry process never is completely removed from your clothes when they are washed. This invisible residue will build up over time on the bottom of your iron, eventually becoming the “brown stuff” on your soleplate. Unfortunately, here is no wayto avoid it. Dust: The dust in the airfalls and builds up on the soleplate of your iron just like it dees on your furniture, and just like with your problemcan easily be avoided by paying attention to the care instructions on the tag in your clothes as well as the temperature getting on your iron. What You Can Do: Always read your iron use and care instructions to see what your iron manufacturer recommendsfor cleaning the scleplate. NEVER use abrasive materials such as steel wool; these types of materials will seratch the soleplate, permanently damagingit. Rowenta, the manufacturer of high performance irons and garment care expert, recommends cleaning the soleplate with a nonabrasive hot iron cleaner, such as the one found in the Rewenta Stamless Steel Scleplate Cleaning Kit. This wax-based cream easily removes any build-up, melted fusibles or fabric from the soleplate. HowTo Do It: Simply empty the water out of the iron and sei the temperature at the hottest setting. Squeeze a small amount of cleaner onto the cloth and rub the iron in a circular motion over the cloth on the furniture, there’s very little you cleaner, making sure the entire scleplate is covered with the using fusibles, webs, iron-on imter- remove excess cleaner. Before iron- can do to avoid the problem. * Sewing materials: When facing and trims for sewing projects, they frequently melt onto the bottom of your iron. These materials can be messy and there is not much you can do to avoid them melting onto the soleplate. Fabric: When you iron synthetics at a higher temperature than recommended, they can melt onto the bottom of your iron. This cleaner. When all the dirt is gone, ub the iron on a second cloth to ing clothes again, use the steam and burst of steam as you iron over ax old cloth or tawel to ensure all of the cleaner is removed from the steam vents. Always use care when handling a hot iron. For other garment care tips and product information, visit the Rowenta Inc. Web site at ww w.rowentansa.com.
