Can anyone help me clean my iron...?

[craftymadam]

Wise Mumsnetters.... I need some help!
My iron started spitting out water & gritty bits this morning. I’ve put white vinegar & distilled water in it, put on mid heat & steamed it through... but it’s ended up looking worse before. Lots of stuff came out of it whilst using the steam button!
Is it salvageable? I really don’t want to buy a new one
I’ve attached a photo to show the state it’s currently in!

So this sounds absolutely bizarre but I seen a post on Twitter and tried it, let your iron heat up and rub paracetamol on it. It actually works!! Just wear gloves or be careful not to burn your fingers. I hadnt cleaned my iron in years and it was practically black but a box of paracetamol later its like brand new!

If the plate is black, paracetamol works! I hold it in a pair of tongs though so no risk of burning your fingers.
Not sure that will help your problem though as it seems to be more gunk coming out of the steam holes. Maybe just run a few loads of vinegar through it until it runs clear?

Paracetamol definitely works on dirty iron plates but use tweezers or tongs etc (voice of experience!)

They sort of melt and rub the crap off with it, I was genuinely surprised the first time I tried it!

The pink stuff

A damp cloth with some washing up liquid should get most of that muck off the sole plate, as it isn't burnt on, but concentrate first on removing as much of the limescale as possible from inside the water tank and steam holes. You want to fill it up then heat it as high as possible, before unplugging and holding over the sink whilst steaming.

I'm assuming your problem is what is spitting out of the iron? That's scale. What you did is correct, you just may need to do it a few more times before you get rid of all the scale.

I'm going to try the paracetamol

Thanks so much everyone! 4 paracetamols & 3 rounds of steaming vinegar & water through the iron and here’s the result...! Amazing!! Thank you so much!

Who knew irons could get headaches too 😂 Impressive job though!

OMG tried out the paracetomal thing this evening and it really does work!