jumpin' judy

I have been felting wool and decided a really good steaming would be in order-----only I forgot to turn my iron down to "wool". I now have little melted bits of wool on the bottom of two irons. I've tried Spray and Wash, Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, and just plain elbow grease. I am now reading the back of a can of oven cleaner. Anybody got any ideas???

justwannaquilt

You can take a piece of paper bag and put some salt on it, then roll the iron around on the salt. You could always try the iron cleaner goop you can buy at the store. try ironing a damp wash cloth. The key is going to be get the iron hot and THEN clean it while the wool is kinda melted again. once its cooled down and stuck on its harder to get off.

Sadiemae

What would happen if you heated the iron and wiped it on an old rag?

Tilladare

I am very curious what your source for the raw wool was, since wool does not melt. perhaps soap residue from the felting process, or a filler in the wool if you used a yarn rather than loose fiber...

Vanuatu Jill

Is the sole plate teflon? My mother taught me a nifty trick to clean the bottom (if not teflon). Take a few sheets of newspaper and lay them stacked on the board and generously sprinkle table salt on it. Heat the iron (No steam) and with a little elboe grease, simply rub the iron over the salt in circular motion, then when clean, take a damp cloth and just wipe it. Worked everytime for me. It doesn't harm the sole plate-I wouldn't use harsh chemicals (oven cleaner).

amma

Sounds like you are using a synthetic and not wool...
I would get the iron really hot and then try to wipe off the worst of it and then try the cleaners when the iron cools off a little :D:D:D

Deborah12687

I wonder if those magic erasers would clean it up or use gogone on it. Could also use a brass putty knife to scrape it of as brass doesn't scratch other metals.

KathyAire

Whenever there is sticky stuff, like from wonder under, I use a used dryer sheet. Press the dryer sheet with the hot iron and the goo comes off. Don't know if it would work for the felt or not. Worth a try.

Vanuatu Jill

When I get fusible on my iron, a dryer sheet always gets it off-and makes my ironboard smell nice in the process!

jumpin' judy

Thanks for all the suggestions. It is 100% wool from recycled clothing that was felted in a hot washer with just a tad of Tide--wonder if that was the culprit? Iron was on "cotton" so it was hot. Some of the wool had an interfacing on it--wonder if that was the culprit?

The oven cleaner immediated cleaned the chrome plate (my Rowenta). The teflon plate was harder to clean for some reason. After reading all kinds of stuff on the internet I tried fingernail polish remover--worked some but required lots of scrubbing. Tried rubbing Lava soap on it--naw, didn't work. Was getting ready to try the salt deal when I went ahead and sprayed the oven cleaner on it. After all, it was a cheap iron. With lots of scrubbing it finally worked.