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. 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. 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. 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. 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!! 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!
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
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.
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.
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. Comments are closed.
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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. Categories
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