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Clean your iron hot plate

I have never known how to clean the base of the iron, I must admit it has always been easier to buy a new iron. That is until I heard this tip to clean a scorched iron plate.

Heat equal parts vinegar and salt in a small pan. Rub solution on the cooled iron surface to remove dark or burned stains. Cleans up a treat.

Visitors comments

still dirty Comments By: anon on 2005-01-25 I tried this tip on my iron which has some burn spots from starch and it didn't work at all. Not worth the smell of vinegar!   Need to use it with a scouring pad Comments By: S.M. on 2005-07-15 so so. It did not work until I used it with a scouring pad.   didn't work for me Comments By: Rita Ridgway on 2006-01-18 I lost my job and am ironing for public and can't afford commerical cleaner and tried this DID NOT WORK for me. If you read this and know a good home remedy please email [email protected]. Thanks   Trea t yourself to a new iron Comments By: Anon on 2006-03-09 Yep, everyone is right. Didn't do it for me either. Only thing it did do was make my kitchen pong.   a bummer! Comments By: Carol on 2006-06-17 tried your suggestion and the scorched area did not budge. Had to disgard the iron   Ways to make it work Comments By: Virignia on 2006-08-12 Well, its not helpful if it doesn't work. I used a Mr. Clean magic cleaner dipped in the vinegar and salt solution. That cleaned it up to almost like new.   Didn't work Comments By: Sara on 2006-12-28 Tried it on the iron and absolutely none of the stain came off.   This Works! Comments By: Joy on 2007-01-25 I used a Mr. Clean Magic Cleaner with NO VINEGAR and NO SALT and my iron looks like new!   cleaning the sole plate Comments By: ruth on 2007-08-14 use Oven cleaner, the spray on kind works just fine and the iron is fine afterwards   One large cod Comments By: Nina on 2007-10-07 Didn't work but made my kitchen smell like a fish and chip shop!   Didn't work Comments By: Carolyn on 2007-11-04 Heated vinegar and salt cooled down before you can get it to the iron plate, useless!   Cleaning a scorched iron soleplate Comments By: Connie B on 2008-01-13 The salt/vinegar works! My iron soleplate was extremely scorched. Heat equal amounts of salt & vinegar just to boiling. I used 1 tablespoon of each. Stir & let cool to lukewarm. Apply in circular motions to the iron plate using a scrubby pad of some sort. It did take some "elbow grease," but it does work! I thought my iron was ruined, but decided to give it a try and I am really pleased. It's an expensive model and I didn't want to just throw it away! Give it another try if you're one of those that said it doesn't work. Be patient & don't give up!   It worked for ne Comments By: John.C on 2008-03-02 It worked for me using a non scratch pad   It DOES work Comments By: Linda on 2008-04-08 decided to try any way, used sea salt and a used a sponge/scourer. took me less than 5 mins. better than using chemicals   it worked! Comments By: D on 2008-05-16 I boiled the salt and vinegar then added some extra rock salt to help the cloth along. No more sticky black mark and an 18 year old trainee chef with a tip to pass on!   works well with a bit of elbow grease Comments By: Belinda on 2008-07-22 I used ceramic hob cleaner and that seemed to work well.   A Man's work Comments By: GarageMan on 2008-08-08 Ladies, don't try this unless you're tough enough. This method works, no matter what. WD-40, steel wool, and determination. Apply WD-40, let soak in for a few moments and rub, rub rub. Repeat as necessary. Glistening Chrome results.   vinegar & salt! Comments By: welshgirl on 2008-09-08 did`t work for me but am going to give oven cleaner a go!   Bug and Tar remover to clean iron! Comments By: Kevin on 2008-09-28 I just tried a bug and tar remover I got from my auto detail shop. Sprayed it on and used a paper towel. One thing I must say is that I have an iron with a teflon type coating so this may have assisted in the cleanup.   It Really Works! Remember to Heat Solution! Comments By: L on 2008-10-07 I scorched my brother's iron and I thought I would just buy him a new one. But I decided that there must be some way of cleaning it up without scratching it all up, so I found your tip and gave it a try. We are both stunned! The iron looks brand new, like nothing happened! It really did not take much effort - especially after heating the solution like you recommended. So I really don't understand why some of the comments above say it didn't work and to use a lot of elbow grease. I don't think they heated the solution. Try this tip it really works! Thank you!   cleaning the iron hotplate Comments By: Mable on 2008-11-10 Had hard burnt on black residue on iron plate. Heated a tablesppon of table salt and vinegar in micrwave 30secs. Used papertowel to rub on salt it worked 100%. Has tried bleach, nail varnish remove, drain unblocjer all to no avail!! Brilliant tip!!   It Works Comments By: C. Powell on 2008-11-14 I tried this when I accidnetly Ironed the wrong side of an fabric-iron-transfer sheet, It works wonders. You so use some elbow grease, but for saving money on a cleaner that wouldn't work, I am not complaining!!!! :)   forget the smelly vinegar Comments By: s marin on 2008-11-22 for about $2.00 you can buy a tube of faultless iron cleaner at walmart or grogery store. just squirt gel onto towel and rub on iron. boom off in seconds   MR Clean Comments By: roy on 2008-12-12 Mr Clean worked perfect for me i would only use vinegar to flush through the iron for the calcium deposits   lord have mercy Comments By: Jamie on 2008-12-18 it didnt work so i threw my iron out the window   This did work Comments By: Anon on 2009-01-29 I also tried heating 1 tblp vinegar and salt in the microwave for 30 seconds and it cleaned my iron. I have been trying different things all morning!   pickled iron Comments By: Kam on 2009-01-05 It works! It really works!!!   burnt iron Comments By: sam on 2009-01-07 i just heat the iron to relly hot dampen a towel put in the edge if a work surface and rub really hard also shaving foam on the tea towel helps no end and then you just iron the foam   Worked! Comments By: Happy Girl on 2009-01-11 Worked for me - microwaved tbls of salt n vinegar for 30 secs and scrubbed with steel wool (maybe it was the steel wool that worked). Either way, my iron is clean, Yay!   Its a miracle Comments By: Wayne Walton on 2009-02-22 used as prescribed, paper towel, rub hard mark gone!Tried salt on brown paper...no joy.This really works.   Salt rocks Comments By: Anon on 2009-02-26 When i was younger, panadol was the way to go. don't try it is chokes. salt cleans the iron real good. just put a cloth or brown paper on a flat surface, sprinkle salt on the cloth/paper and heat the iron. iron the cloth/paper gently, pressing as you go along. the dirt sticks to the salt and leaves your iron clean!!   hot Iron Comments By: annetteobrien on 2009-03-04 Heat iron. rub with mixed cold vinegar and salt   Worked for me!!! Comments By: Kenya on 2009-03-11 This actually worked for me. Yes,it took some elbow grease to get it off. But, I still have my iron...   awesome! Comments By: Anon on 2009-03-14 This worked just perfectly for me, without too much elbow grease. I'd ironed a silk ribbon on a shirt, and it had left green marks on the iron, which then covered the white shirt I ironed next. Thanks to this cleaner, no more green marks and a clean iron! 1 T. vinegar, 1 T. table salt, 30 sec in microwave, and a dishrag.   brillo pad and aga cleaner Comments By: kate.harts on 2009-03-23 I used a brillo pad with chrome and steel hot plate cleaner and a little water on a warm iron plate. I had really bad burn marks and although it took a bit of rubbing to clear it, the hot plate is as good as new now.   All Purpose Orange Cleaner Comments By: Phillip on 2009-04-04 I just used all purpose "Orange" cleaner spray and I rubbed it lightly with a scouring pad. The build-up was gone in seconds.   Success! Comments By: Anthony on 2009-04-24 I tried this a few minutes ago after melting synthetic trim on an otherwise 100% cotton shirt onto the non-stick soleplate of my iron earlier this morning. It worked a treat, I used a heated solution of white vinegar and sea salt. It didn't work with kitchen towel though, I had to use a J-Cloth and also had to be patient to allow the solution to dissolve the burnt on synthetic material, plus needed to ensure that there was plenty of sea salt on the cloth (the sea salt didn't fully dissolve in the heated white vinegar solution).   cleaning Comments By: janey on 2009-05-04 As I have a teflon coated iron, I used Mr. Muscle oven cleaner on the iron whilst it was warm, within a couple of minutes the base was clean wiped off with kitchen roll and wiped off again with damp kitchen roll after to remove any residue. Then filled the iron with water and put on to steam to make sure any cleaner in the base was ejected.   It worked perfectly for me with some elbow grease Comments By: Swoosie on 2009-05-21 Someone burnt the base of my new iron and I was about to throw it away when I logged on here and read this tip, well I used 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 of vinegar, micro-waved them for 30 seconds, (weird, the salt never dissolved)then got one of those sponges that have a green abrasive side and got my 16 year old son to scrub away. (You DO need a lot of elbow grease!) At first we thought that it wasn't going to work and almost gave up but keep on scrubbing and it does come off and leaves no scratches on the base, thank you very much, a brilliant tip!   This worked for me....on my telfon coated iron.... Comments By: Sue on 2009-06-04 After trying the vinegar and salt tip along with alot of rubbing with various scourers and cleaning cloths, I used a sharp kitchen knife (smooth blade not serrated). I simply slid the knife across the burnt area and it peeled off... I have a clean iron now! Maybe the vinegar and salt soften the burnt material?   cleaning a burnt sole plate Comments By: Bobbie on 2009-06-11 Vinegar and salt did not work it just made a mess and smelt bad. Oven cleaner with a scourer did the trick!   Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Comments By: Kevin on 2009-06-28 I've struggled for years trying to scrub iron plates with pads, vinegar, salt and other harsh chemicals to no avail. Reading through these posts I just tried Mr. Clean's Magic Erasers and I was shocked how easily a dark caked on burn and build up of starch came off the soleplate. The first few strokes the main portion came right off. Then I had to apply pressure for maybe 45 seconds and it was wiped clean. I washed down the soleplate to get any chemicals off. Very simple. Vinegar and salt didn't work for me much. Give the eraser a shot.   Residue Off Comments By: J.Copp on 2009-07-05 Had melted polyester fabric on sole of my iron, uses salt and vinegar and heated the solutin up for 45 seconds in the microwave, ued non scratchable pad and rubbed my behind off, and behold, a like new iron emerged.   Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Comments By: Browniect on 2009-07-19 Mr. Clean Magic Eraser worked for me with a little salt and some elbow grease. Came right off. If you don't want to use elbow grease my suggestion would be the Faultless Iron Cleaner found in Walmart or online..   It worked! Comments By: Mel L on 2009-07-26 I thought I'd give it a go - I heated the salt and vinegar and used very fine steel wool and it worked - with a bit of elbow grease. It might well have worked with just the fine steel wool - don't use anything other than extra fine   WD40 Comments By: A+N on 2009-08-15 Did the trick for our months-long hard stains and viola!!!! THANKS A LOT ya guys!!!   Try Again. Comments By: Terry B on 2009-08-28 Just worked perfectly for me August 09 - Made sure Salt disolved in Vinegar(Brown )- boiled up and applied with sponge and minimum of pressure. Removed burnt on stuff with easeNo damage to non - stick coat. Cleaned off salt residues with water and cloth later - THANKS   5 star tip Comments By: Karen McG on 2009-09-25 I have never gone on the internet for a tip before !! this was first class, worked with a scorring pad, dipped in the cooled vingar and salt - and it worked - totally clean   sort of worked Comments By: Shazbo on 2009-09-25 it removed the lighter stains but the thick black mark was still left - oven cleaner removed this and the iron is now as good as new   Salt & Vinegar really works Comments By: Di on 2009-09-26 I found the salt & vinegar method really did work, but it did require plenty or elbow grease. ps. About 1 third of my iron base plate was covered in this dark brown gunk and now it is like new.   didnt work salt and vinger Comments By: sheirly on 2009-10-23 salt and vinger didnt work at all but oven cleaner is best make my iron new again thanx for this tip   Definately works! Comments By: dominoe on 2009-10-31 make sure your iron is cooling down when you do it, don't do it with a cold iron, it won't work!   Salt and vinegar Comments By: Neat1 on 2009-10-31 Worked a treat for me. A tablespoon of salt and vinegar, heat in microwave to a paste and it brought all the black lace mark off my iron.   But what about the knife gouges? Comments By: Anon on 2009-12-13 I couldn't get oven cleaner or Goo Gone to work. Half vinegar and half salt AND elbow grease did the trick! Now what do I do about the knife gouges accidentally administered before I read this?   Man's work!!! Comments By: Borobabe on 2009-12-27 Didn't have any vinegar so tried WD-40 and wire wool. Cleaned scorched iron up a treat. Saved money as I don't need a new iron now.   It works! Comments By: Pip on 2010-01-07 Use a husband, knife & pan scourer too, and it will come up OK! Save price of a new iron. Thanks.   Lemon Juice and Salt Work Great! Comments By: TFALdailyironer on 2010-01-17 Have a TFAL non-stick iron that had burnt brown starch all over the surface. Used about 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, about 1 tablespoon of salt and about 6-8 tablespoons of water. Put mixture in microwave bowl and heated for about 4 minutes. Used a non-abrasive scouring pad to rub the hot mixture over the iron's surface and shaazzaaam! It came right off; no elbow grease required. This mixture (minus the salt) works for cleaning the inside of your microwave, too. :)   gave up Comments By: Nic on 2010-01-18 did not work at all!   teflon Comments By: anon on 2010-01-19 teflon school uniform melted onto iron - any suggestions TipKing says: Not really, it may be time for a new iron   It's all about the elbow greese... Comments By: ctuesday on 2010-01-31 It did work. I only had rice vinegar(don't tell my mom I didn't have vinegar in the house. It's a household remedy for life; from window cleaner to decreasing your sugar craving :) I used the warm rice vinegar and sea salt on a warm iron and don't use a steel wool scrowering pad, it did what I expected; scratched my iron plate. but I got 93% of the scrorch marks of my $6 Iron and it works great again.   only salt ! Comments By: Abeer on 2010-01-31 heat the iron then scrub with salt keep the iron on and scrub using a towel !   Magic sponge! Comments By: Sue on 2010-02-21 Magic sponge, warm water and elbow grease did the trick to remove a bit of melted-on nylon! What the heck is in that thing, anyway?   stardrops Comments By: kate on 2010-03-14 concentrated stardrops household cleaner with a soft scourer has brought my burnt iron plate up fantastic. stardrops is made by sundrop in huddersfield   stardrops Comments By: kate on 2010-03-14 concentrated stardrops household cleaner with a soft scourer has brought my burnt iron plate up fantastic. stardrops is made by sundrop in huddersfield   A bit of elbow grease... Comments By: Louiseh on 2010-03-15 The vinegar and salt do really work, just tried it out. Did have to use a bit of elbow grease but good results! Thanks for the tip   That is just a waste of time and effort Comments By: yvonne on 2010-03-24 A straight forward brillo pad with a little elbow grease that's all you need and that will clean your iron perfectly   It works! Comments By: Anon on 2010-03-25 I tried this and with a bit of elbow grease and a scouring pad the vinegar and salt solution works... my hands smell terrible but my iron is lovely and shinny!   Clean iron hot plate Comments By: lindab on 2010-03-27 Use oven cleaner, scourer and a bit of elbow grease and it will be removed!!   First rate Tip Comments By: Anon on 2010-04-07 It worked for me! A bit of elbow grease is needed and patience!   yipee Comments By: Drepole on 2010-05-06 Brand new iron, 1st thing I ironed stuck to it. Lucy said this wouldn't work but it did. Thanks. Drepole.   didn't work for me either Comments By: June on 2010-05-03 Tried this tip and it didn't work. Tried Mr Muscle oven cleaner, left it on on sole plate for about 30 seconds and wiped it off with dishcloth, iron is like new again. Brilliant and many thanks to the person who left this tip.   Iron Sole Plate Comments By: Viv on 2010-05-04 Ceramis Hob cleaner worked a treat, leaving no residue. Thanks for the advice.   Didn't work at all Comments By: SNP on 2010-05-13 I tried and it didn't work. I DID heat the solution, I let it cool for only a minute or so (so it was still hot) and used it on a cool iron. I used plenty of elbow grease. Now I have salt in the little steam holes - hope I can get it out! Going to try Cillit Bang power cleaner next.   fantastic tip Comments By: C-J from Clacton on 2010-05-15 i tried this tip, but used a tad more salt than suggested on my ceramic soleplate,with a gentle circular motion with green scourer... works like magic.   Oven cleaner works Comments By: Bascotti on 2010-05-31 elbow grease required but the very burnt on stuff came off quicker than expected. No smell afterwards either. I'm on a diet so the smell of salt and vinegar would have made me crave fish and chips!!   oven cleaner is the best........... Comments By: TE Bucks on 2010-06-06 tried the salt and vinegar potion........rubbish! Oven cleaner and elbow grease is the best....but think it may depend on what fabric made the initial scorch mark in the first place....??   Disappointing Comments By: R. Lewis on 2010-06-06 Did not remove any of the scorch. Any other ideas?   Worked for me Comments By: kim on 2010-06-10 Usually I throw the irons out too - but I'd finally bought a great iron with all mod cons. My teenager burnt her black synthetic slacks onto my lovely new ceramic plate iron. I was devastated - til I found this tip on the net. Heating up salt & vinegar worked like a dream, and didn't require much elbow grease at all - thanks   It will work .. if you just apply yourself a bit Comments By: Chef J. on 2010-06-14 1 Tbsp each white vinegar and sea salt. Micro 30 seconds. rub with a paper towel.   worked for me Comments By: hailey on 2010-06-19 thanks for the tip with the vinegar and salt, i put it to a little boil and then rub the solution with a rough pad it took all the black stains out.   Melted Nylon Comments By: Brew on 2010-06-20 Worked well for me with Nylon melted on iron using a sponge with a nonscratch side. Not sure if the salt and vinegar did anything. The iron was stainless and plated so might have just come up with the sponge anyway.   IT SOO DOES WORK ON NON STICK TEFLON IRONS Comments By: Tracy on 2010-07-07 this does work perfectly, 1 tablespoon vinegar & 1 tablespoon salt, heat in microwave for 30 seconds, warm iron, non stick scouring pad, very little elbow grease needed, just a bit smelling when doing it. surprised people are using metal scouring pads on teflon irons, I wouldnt!!   MR. CLEAN PAD AND A LITTLE COMET. Comments By: BOB LYONS on 2010-07-11 I TOO WAS GOING TO THROW OUR IRON OUT. I HAD SCORCHED IT ABOUT SIX MO. AGO IRONING A GOLF SHIRT AND BECAUSE I DID NOT READ THE SHIRT LABEL, YOU NOW NOW WHAT HAPPENED.MY WIFE GAVE ME THE IDEA OF MR. CLEAN AND SOME COMET, IT TOOK ABOUT SIX MINUTES AND. THE IRON NOW LOKKS REAL GOOD   persevere it worked for me Comments By: Jenny on 2010-07-18 cooled iron, tried the equal parts salt and vinegar (out of white vinegar so used cider vinegar)heated 30 secs in microwave and used rough side of scotchbrite pad. It didn't work to start with but I persevered with elbow grease and suddenly the residue from ironing nylon with too hot an iron did come off.   WIREWOOL Comments By: Dusky on 2010-07-28 why didbt I think of this one...no need for the 'metal cleaner' by Amway...a bit of the wire wool, which is fine in texture simply wears down the solid gung bit by bit and hey presto...i now have a fine old iron   WD40 worked on our iron Comments By: trader2500 on 2010-07-25 went for the WD40 option as thought I would try that first before trying vinegar&salt took a bit of scrubbing with a scourer but has brought it up well   It works wonders Comments By: Kate on 2010-07-25 The top 3" of my iron was covered very thickly in burnt shoulder pad (polyester and padding). I tried book tips to no avail so I asked Google and the vinegar and salt tip worked a treat. The iron is now like new. I will pass the word to friends. Thank you!   Didnt work for me! Comments By: Dusky on 2010-07-26 What works for one person may not work for another!! but Ive heard of an American company called Amway and I hear their products are all organic and good value for money. They have a 'metal cleaner' which I am now going to try out seeing as the vinegar and salt in equal parts did not work for me :(   I found something that works Comments By: Cathie on 2010-08-17 This tip didn't work but I used a product called Hot Glass Cleaner used for the glass door of a wood heater. It took ages but it worked.   GREAT Comments By: tina waring on 2010-08-25 I first tried vinegar and salt heated up didn't do anything so tried cold vinegar amd salt on a warm iron a little bit of elbow grease whoopee it worked   Superb Comments By: Ying on 2010-08-28 It worked but with baking soda, vinegar, and salt - mixed into paste. Apply the paste onto the iron then set the iron to heat at maximum. Once the paste hardens,cool the iron on a very wet cloth, then use a butter knife to scrape off the burnt area/layer. As the burnt layer was thick in my case, I had to do several rounds. End of the day, my iron is cleaned and usable!! Try it out and hope yours worked out too!   Tried it, BUT CREAM CLEANER IS BETTER!! Comments By: Kayley on 2010-09-24 I tried the vinegar/salt thing and just stunk my house out with vinegar. I tried cream cleaner and that worked great!! Cream cleaner is amazing stuff, cheap but does the job! It even gets felt pens and biro of walls, window sills and most probably anything if your little monkeys decide to become an artist!   did the job!! Comments By: Tiara Tuesday on 2010-10-13 I had spent �5.99 on a iron plate cleaner whcih did not work so I looked on the internet and found this tip. It worked! with a bit of rubbing with a soft scourer. Briliant   Worked for me! Comments By: Lindsey on 2010-10-26 My iron had a bad burnt on mark on it's soleplate. I tried the vinegar and salt but that didn't seem to be working so I tried ovencleaner. I left it on for an hour and it worked!   NO LUCK Comments By: anon on 2010-10-30 I tried heating salt and vinegar and rubbed and rubbed the base of the iron - to no avail.   Rescued my Iron !!!! Comments By: Caroline E-H on 2010-11-06 I am a heavy duty iron replacer !!!! once again my iron sole had a deep purple coloured in-grained stain/burn on ! Just about to rush to the supermarket to buy a replacement.When fortunatly i looked at your tip! I had nothing to lose,so i mixed 1 tbl spoon of salt and 1 tbl spoon of vinigar together,put in microwave,which turned to a paste like consistancy.( My iron was HOT)I rubbed like mad with the scourer side of the kitchen sponge with the paste....At first nothing seemed to happen,then gradually,i saw a difference,then more rubbing furiously and hey presto it was clean!!! I used a cocktail stick to remove the residue which had sealed the steam vent holes...bingo, a new iron !!! Thank you for this Fab tip !!   NO FUSS NO SMELL Comments By: VITO on 2010-11-13 I USE DETTOL SURFACE CLEANER...SPRAY SOME ON A ROUGH CLOTH, (I DON'T LIKE TO USE SCOURING PAD BECAUSE IT COULD SCRATCH THE PLATE, AND HOW GINO WOULD SAY: 'FANTASTICO'. GOOD LUCK:-)   cleaning an iron hot plate Comments By: Lena on 2010-11-14 didn't try the vinegar and salt tip, but used bicarbonate of soda mixed with water into a thick paste. With a little bit of elbow grease and a green sponge it came up like new! Glad I didn't spend a small fortune on some magic cleaning solution from my local supermarket!   waste of time Comments By: crisgal on 2010-11-19 din't work for me - in the end i used 'hob brite' ceramic cleaner.   Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Comments By: Nikki on 2010-12-12 I read on a quilters website how she used the Magic Eraser to clean a burned on iron, I couldn't remember who said it so I googled and found this page. I used a hot iron and ironed a wet Magic Eraser, let the iron cool after the initial swipes to take off the bulk of the gunk, then used the sponge to clean off the remainder. Saved a hand me down iron my mother gave me.   worked for me - wear gloves! Comments By: jeff on 2010-12-18 Worked for me.. had to use wire wool. Plenty of elbow grease. I suggest wearing rubber gloves, otherwise you will end up with black fingers like I did.   Astonish! Comments By: Jane on 2010-12-28 I used Astonish cooker hob cleaner...my Aga dealer recommended it for burnt stains on the Aga. It worked very well, with elbow grease and a soft pan scrubber, on the iron hotplate which now looks like new after years of melting synthetic fibres on to it!   Worked on myTefal Iron Comments By: Shauren on 2011-01-11 I have changed Teflon irons before due to the brown residue build up on the soleplate. Recently we got one of those steam power irons (which are great by the way) and way too expensive to just bin. I followed peoples' suggestions using sea salt, distilled vinegar with a microwave and got all the stuff off. This method needs a fair amount of scrubbing so this is why I have not given it 5 stars. I think it works because the salt acts as an abrasive but it is not hard enough to damage the teflon coating (I know someone who has damaged his with sandpaper). The vinegar I guess is there to help dissolve any calcium carbonate build up due to hard water. As it works like an abrasive it won't just dissolve the residue so it needs elbow grease. The salt got into the steam vents and I thought my 5 bar "super" power steam iron would just blow the stuff out but I was wrong and it just caked in the holes. But as it is just salt, I rinsed it out with water and it is a good as new.   Iron abuse Comments By: desperate measures on 2011-01-16 My friend had clearly abused her iron far too much for this to work!   Artificial white vinegar Comments By: Lien Wee Liang on 2011-01-28 I tried this and it didn't work for me   Worked well Comments By: Pat on 2011-02-05 Tried this tip on my steam press as I had burnt a lace top on it. Worked ok with a lot of elbow grease but vinegar and salt didnt turn into a paste at all. I did use a scourer too. I am happy with the result.   SMELLY & KNAKERED Comments By: Anon on 2011-02-13 After scrubbing for what seemed like 2 hours i managed to get a tiny amount off. All i seemed to do is make my arms ache and smell the house out!!!!   Works perfect Comments By: rocky on 2011-02-15 I used the vinegar and the salt after heating it for a few minutes. Rubbed it on the surface of the iron and left it for 5 minutes and then used a scouring pad and elbow crease and it cleaned the black marks off easily. Looks brand new now..   Steel Wool 0000 Comments By: gbg on 2011-03-02 I purchased some steel wool - 0000 - very fine. scrubbed the iron for at least 35 mins and it removed all of the black burns from the sole plate - can't comment on the other methods but this one works and you will be tired!!   solution Comments By: Mary on 2011-03-21 This seems extreme but it actually works. I used everything and nothing worked. I had nothing to lose. Mr Muscle oven cleaner straight onto plate and wipe after a couple of minutes. Dream finish.Repeat if thick.   simply amazing it works!! Comments By: kaz on 2011-03-20 I have just purchased yet another new Iron!!I allways buy the non stick sole plate, but unfortunately my daughters never use the right settings! so burnt fabric yet again!!! have thrown 3 irons out after trying all sorts of cleaning solutions to no avail! Well today after only having the Iron a wk, my daughter has done it again!!! so went on here a while ago and thought i'd give it a go! must admit i wasnt sure if it would work, it took me about 10 mins to do it i used a soft scouring cloth and a bit of elbow grease lol am absolutely amazed! thank you so much, saved me buying yet another new Iron!!   Salt n Vingear Comments By: Courtney on 2011-03-20 It works! But only if the iron is heated! Thanks :)   oven cleaner Comments By: gallah on 2011-04-04 oven cleaner, steel pad, 10 minutes. My iron look brand new.   non stick iron plate ( cleaning) Comments By: Reg. on 2011-05-19 I have a very good steam iron,and I have just used Mr Musle oven cleaner, sprayed it on warm, don't breath the fumes! left it for 15 minutes and wiped off with a sponge scoring pad the rough side, this does work!   easiest fastest way to clean scorched iron Comments By: HAS on 2011-05-28 I used a Mr Clean Magic Eraser on a warm iron before it was completely cooled and it got clean with only one swipe. Looks like new!   Use scouring powder! Comments By: Sheena on 2011-06-26 I always use scouring powder - it works every time! :-)   Used a label remover spray Comments By: loz on 2011-08-17 I didn't try the tip given but found that by using a label remover spray (basically orange oil I think) and a pot scourer, I successfully removed nasty black sticky stuff from the bottom of my steam generator iron.   Cleaning Iron hot plate Comments By: Anon on 2011-08-01 USE CAUTION/ADEQUATE VENTILATION/LEATHER GLOVES/THROW-AWAY RAGS. Just cleaned iron hot plate less than 5 minutes ago & is now clean as new. While iron plate was hot, lightly sprayed burnt spot & as it bubbled, wiped clean with clean rag. Do this with adequate ventilation as fumes can irritate. Used Oven Grease cleaner from $.99 store. Good Luck.....   Ceramic iron sole plate Comments By: Jennyag on 2011-08-09 CIF oven cleaner, spray area whilst iron still warm wipe off with soft cloth, repeat. Clean as a whistle.