Melbourne tap water and soft green scoured. Breville iron over 10 years old
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I’ve been looking for an iron man for maintenance. My son uses a steamer.
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I have never used a descaler as Sydney water seems OK and I don’t steam much. However, when I mistakenly iron something synthetic on a high temp, the non stick baseplate on my Phillips power life gets dirty and I use Hallmark Iron Kleen on the baseplate. It smells disgusting, but does the job OK.
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We’re in Adelaide - some of the worst water in the world, so we use boiled rainwater in our iron and don’t have any problems.
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I’m looking at my iron now, covered in dust but on the rare biennial use it performs flawlessly. Oh, yes, it’s a 40 year old Hecla dry iron so the only water used is that which I sprinkle on clothes before starting the ironing, just like my mum taught me!
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My iron has a decal feature. When this lights up, I empty and refill the chamber
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I use plain tap water. I usually run the iron dry each time i use it. My wife dosn’t iron. The current iron has lasted me years.
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I must be out of touch - I iron every week!
I have a non stick surface on the sole of the iron, which needs no maintenance, and I don’t have an issue with it sticking. In terms of the inner care, like some others, I use demineralised or rain water.
Mine is also a Choice recommendation that I have had for a number of years - I forget how Manu now.
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Similar situation. I bought a small non-steam iron in 1990 and have never had any problems. I was fed up with irons dying after a couple of years.The man in the store told me a dry iron would last much longer - he was right! I also appreciate the lightness - water adds a lot of weight.
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I very seldom iron now, but I have an 'iron shoe" (purchased 2003) attached to my iron that has lasted me through two irons. It protects the sole plate and never seems to get gunk on it. You are also way less likely to ‘burn’ or ‘melt’ clothes if you use an iron shoe.
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I love ironing and always have, probably a subconscious coping mechanism left over from my army days lol (no do NOT send me your ironing, do not love it that much 
). As has been stated many times above, demineralised water or similar is a must for longevity. Giving the base plate an occasional wipe whilst iron is still warm also helps minimise any build up of gunk. An important thing mum taught me about keeping an iron clean (herself ex-army) was the ironing board cover - make sure to give it a wash. She ironed everything and said a good guideline was family of 4 once a month, couple no kids every 2nd month. Ironing board covers would pick up a lot of stuff you don’t see, and a lot of that from the washing I’m guessing. No scientist but I think the action of a steam iron would blow any detergent or other washing residues from the underside of whatever you are ironing straight into the ironing board cover, and that would build up over time. In time those particles would dislodge and be picked up by your iron. Some of those here more into scientific discovery might disagree and I’d be happy for them to, save me washing the cover so often lol.
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Ah, washing the ironing board cover - that’s a great tip! Thanks
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