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Burning the house down

11/9/2016

 
This post has nothing to do with politics. The title is literal. I was about to burn down my house!

For months, and maybe over a year, I'd come into the sewing room and smell something burning. Chris and I searched high and low checking outlets and cords many times and never found anything.
vicki welsh
Monday I was ironing and something was scratching on the fabric. I looked and some broken piece was coming out of the back of the iron. I turned it off and cooled it to remove the piece. That's when I noticed for the first time that there's a gap between the sole plate and the tank and element cover. After a closer look I saw lint stuffed in there. There's also a gap between the handle and the cover too. 
vicki welsh
Sooo much lint! By the time I pulled out everything I could have filled a cup with lint. But take a close look. Some of that lint is brown and black. It's burned! My iron has been burning lint and the reason I didn't necessarily smell it while I was ironing is that I was smelling it smoldering.

​Clearly I've dropped this iron one too many times.
fabric iron
This iron is only used for ironing fabric for the shop. I never use steam and really just needed something simple and hot that doesn't have an auto-shutoff.  It has a designed gab between the sole plate and tank but it's wide enough that I'll be able to blow it out periodically. 
hand dyed fabric
This iron isn't optimal but I needed something fast because I have stacks of fabric to iron so I'll work with it until I find something better. Meanwhile, Check your own iron just to make sure you don't have a similar problem happening.
Kristin F
11/9/2016 12:55:07 pm

Wow. Good to know. Glad it didn't start a fire!!

Karen Goad link
11/9/2016 01:20:52 pm

wow - never thought of that - I will check my irons - I rarely ever have an iron for more than 2 or 3 years as I buy inexpensive ones and they never seem to last but I will check anyhow - glad your house didn't burn down!

Linda Koenig link
11/9/2016 05:32:12 pm

I had no idea this could happen!! Thanks for the heads-up.

Peg S.
11/9/2016 06:48:52 pm

Wow! That's pretty scary. I've never had an iron collect lint like that, but I did have one where the temperature control went bad and it got super heated. It burned a hole in some fabric and in my ironing board cover. When I threw the iron away, I cut off the cord so there was no chance that someone could use it.

peaceful
11/10/2016 01:46:59 am

Glad it did not turn into a blaze. Interesting. I will be checking my iron. Thanks.

Gene Black link
11/10/2016 07:24:08 am

Whew. That could have been a close call.

Gene Black
11/10/2016 07:26:15 am

LOL.... too early for me! I meant "That was a close call and could have been a real disaster."

shirley swift-bruner
11/10/2016 07:34:37 am

WOW....who knew. thanks for sharing that.

Mary Anne link
11/10/2016 08:29:42 am

Wow! This is one I never would have thought of. Thanks for the warning Vicki (and so glad you discovered the source before something terrible could have happened).

patty
11/10/2016 09:27:45 am

Who knew that an iron would suck up that much lint! Good thing that you finally figured out where the smell was coming from! You will have to let us all know when you find the perfect iron. I have a Black and Decker digital advantage, but it has that damn auto shut off feature.

Laura link
11/10/2016 01:17:12 pm

Whoa! I have an old well-loved Black & Decker iron that I want to last forever! I'll be taking a very close look at it now! Thank you so much for sharing your experience!

Cynthia Marrs
11/10/2016 07:36:09 pm

That iron looks like one my mother had. Is it that old? I have a 6 yr old Rowenta that has never been used for steam. And no auto shut off. I pull the plug when I'm not using the iron. Love this iron.

Cynthia

Alycia C link
11/13/2016 09:55:00 am

Whoa - that is scary! I had one that smelled funny too - and just threw it out - I was not happy!


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    About Vicki

    I'm Vicki Welsh and I've been making things as long as I can remember. I used to be a garment maker but transitioned to quilts about 20 years ago. Currently I'm into fabric dyeing, quilting, Zentangle, fabric postcards, fused glass and mosaic. I document my adventures here.

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  • Welcome
  • Shop
    • Hand Dyed Fabric
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  • Galleries
    • Customer Gallery >
      • Project Submission Form
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      • 2022 >
        • Summer Sunset Quilt
        • Soundwave Quilt
      • 2021 >
        • A Big Green Quilt
        • Finally! Quilt
      • 2020 >
        • Jackies Choice Quilt
        • Penguins on Ice Quilt
        • Corona Cats Quilt
        • Kim's Garden
      • 2019 >
        • Indonesian Batik Quilt
        • Lost My Marbles
        • Remaking Flora's quilt
        • I'm Not a Snowflake Quilt
        • Where In The World Is My Cat Quilt
        • Fireworks
        • The Groovy Quilts
        • The Puppy Quilt
      • 2018 >
        • The Maine Quilt
        • Stars At Sea
        • Antelope Canyon Quilt
      • 2017 >
        • The Wedding Quilt Quilt
        • Rainbow's End Quilt
      • 2016 >
        • CSQ Challenge Quilt
        • Wholecloth Quilt of Valor
        • Luras Choice Quilt
        • Black Swan Quilt
        • 2016 Quilt of Valor Quilt
        • Non Unus Pluma Quilt
      • 2015 >
        • Snaps Quilt
        • Batik Crossroads Quilt
        • Wild Goose Chase Quilt
        • Fractured Fragments Quilt
        • Tell It To the Stars Quilt
        • Cathedral Window Quilt
        • Time In Place Quilt
        • Shaken Not Stirred Quilt
        • Pleiades Quilt
      • 2014 >
        • Spinning Stars Quilt
        • Fractured Spiral Quilt
        • Autumn Leaves Quilt
        • Sea Dreams Quilt
        • Woodland Star Quilt
        • Zombie Ball Quilt
        • Innova Angles Quilt
      • 2013 >
        • Murder For a Jar of Red Rum Quilt
        • Patroitic Quilts
        • Red Sunset Bedding Quilt
        • The Infamous Fish Quilt
        • Gratitudes Quilt
      • 2012 >
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        • Kims Wedding Quilt
        • Crossing The South Anna Quilt
        • Coming Home Quilt
        • See Reverse Quilt
        • Overboard Quilt
        • Floras Fans and Modern Crumbs Quilt
        • The Patriot Quilt
        • On Point Quilt
        • Grinch Quilts
      • 2011 >
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        • On A Whim Quilt
        • Catena Quilt
        • Zig Zag Scraps Quilt
        • Purple Keepsakes Quilt
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      • 2010 >
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      • 2009 >
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        • TShirt Quilt Commission
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      • 2008 >
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        • Monkey Baby Quilts
        • Citrus Quilt
      • 2007 >
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        • Quilts of Valor
        • Other Quilts
      • 2006 and older >
        • Scrap Bin Quilt
        • Flora's Dutchman's Breeches
        • The Gift Quilts
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      • Rainbow Quilt Free Pattern
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      • Dyeing extra large fabrics
      • Hold the Retayne
      • Painted Shower Curtain Tutorial
      • Metallic Paint Effects on Fabric
      • Curing Metallic Fabric Paints
      • Zentange Pens
      • Leaf Printing Tutorial
      • Printing On Fabric
      • Life of MX Dye Concentrates
      • Testing Soda Ash in fabric dyeing
    • Color Theory
    • Placemat Tutorials >
      • Rise and Shine Placemat Tutorial
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      • Fat Quarter Placemat Tutorial
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      • Trash To Treasure Holiday Ornaments
      • Pet Bed From Scraps Tutorial
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      • Bowl hot pad pattern
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      • The longarm machine does matter
      • Double Wavy Crosshatch
      • Wavy Crosshatch Longarm
      • Quilting Letters on a Quilt
      • Centering a Quilt back on a longarm
      • Quilting Snowball Blocks
      • Easy Longarm Piano Keys
      • Using Channel Locks
      • Sewing/Serging quilt backing to zippers
      • Adding backing on the longarm
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