6 tips if your iron leaks or drips brown water
My iron leaks or drips brown water
Does your iron leak? You'll get water stains in your clothes, something you don't want. When the iron leaks brown water, it's likely due to limescale buildup. You can solve this with 6 tips:
- Tip 1: let the iron heat up properly
- Tip 2: pause between the steam bursts
- Tip 3: clean the soleplate
- Tip 4: descale your iron or steam generator
- Tip 5: dry the soleplate after descaling
- Tip 6: replace the ironing board cover
Tip 1: let the iron heat up properly
An iron or steam generator needs to heat up properly to be able to produce steam. If it's not hot enough, the soleplate will probably leak water when you activate the steam function. Give your iron or steam generator some time. You can find the warm-up time of your model in the manual.
Tip 2: pause between the steam bursts
When you use the steam function for a longer time back to back, the water will build up. This might cause your soleplate to start leaking. Continue to iron and wait a little longer before you use the steam function again.
Tip 3: clean the soleplate
If you iron at high temperatures often, small fabric particles can melt onto the soleplate. This blocks the steam holes. As a result, the water collects in the holes and limescale builds up. This causes brown water to come out of the soleplate. Remove light limescale buildup with a damp cloth. Make sure the iron is turned off when you do so. Doesn't that work? Turn on the iron to its maximum temperature. Turn off the steam function and move the iron across a paper towel.
Tip 4: descale your iron or steam generator
Is your iron or steam generator still leaking? You'll probably have to descale it. You can do this with a limescale collector, cleaning program, or descaling container. The descaling method differs per model. You can read tips on descaling in the advice article on this page.
Tip 5: dry the soleplate after descaling
After your descale your iron or steam generator, some water might leak out of the soleplate. This is normal. Dry the soleplate with a cloth to prevent water marks on your clothes.
Tip 6: replace your ironing board cover
Sometimes, steam causes condensation on the ironing board cover. This may make it seem like the soleplate it leaking. A worn out ironing board cover causes the condensation. That's why you should choose a lower steam output in this case, or purchase a new ironing board cover.
