Any person who irons their clothes regularly knows that there are instances when they iron things they shouldn’t. Whether you’re ironing a thin design on a cotton tee or a synthetic fabric, sometimes ironing over a heat-sensitive area will leave a sticky burn mark on the bottom of your expensive iron.
A poorly maintained steam iron will create dirty streaks on your clothes and prevent you from getting good press. The iron soleplate accumulates residue. Melted synthetic fibres and starch accumulation are both potential reasons why there’s a burnt-on dirty patch on the base of your iron.
The residue is impossible to remove with just water, soap, and a cloth – it’s stuck solid, but it can be cleaned off with, wait for it… paracetamol.
Don’t believe me?
See this cool cleaning hack in action by this Instagram poster:
Paracetamol for Cleaning a Scorched Iron
An inexpensive pack of paracetamol generic brand can be purchased for roughly 60p at any local shop. You’ve probably got some at home. If not, get a pack and follow these instructions to remove melted marks, dirt, and rust from the base of any steam iron.
Set your iron on medium heat. Holding the paracetamol tablet with tweezers or small pliers (or fingers, taking care not to touch the hot soleplate), scrub the black scorched parts of your iron and watch them magically disappear. Turn the heat up to high if the burn is very resistant, but be careful not to burn your fingers.
Here’s the step to use paracetamol as a simple iron cleaner
- Get your iron nice and warm to help soften the melted dirt.
- Paracetamol can be applied topically by rubbing it on the rusty black or dirty areas with tweezers, or carefully with fingers (use fingers at your own risk)
- After you’re done, simply wipe it down with a damp cloth. Take caution, since the iron will still be hot.
- After that, the iron will shine like new
This ingenious method of using painkillers to clean an iron soleplate has been passed around the Internet before, of course. But the crazy has kicked off again due to how effective it is.
Paracetamol works remarkably well as a cleaning agent for an iron soleplate. Paracetamol is a widely available pill that is used for fever and pain treatment. Using a paracetamol tablet and a hot soleplate, you can effortlessly clean your iron by removing stubborn stains and debris.
As long as you’re taking a pure tablet of paracetamol (acetaminophen) without any coating, you won’t have to worry about inhaling any harmful vapours. It’s also gentle enough that it won’t permanently mar your shoe’s bottom.
The only actual risk is getting burned on the soleplate, which is made of hot iron. Remember that you shouldn’t take a powdered paracetamol capsule (only use a solid tablet) even though the drug poses no risk if taken orally. The capsule coating will melt in the heat, potentially releasing toxic gases, and leaving a sticky residue.
Soleplate giving you a headache with all the grime? Then, if you’re feeling ill, take some paracetamol. However, you don’t need to take a pill with water; a simple polish will restore your iron’s lustre. This cleaning tip has been making the rounds online, and with good reason.
