My Iron Drips Oil--Help!

I'm having a problem with my iron. Using an iron on a daily basis is an absolute necessity in my profession (sewing). The thing is, about a year ago, my iron started dripping some kind of oil or grease onto my fabrics! It isn't water, because it doesn't evaporate when I iron over it. It leaves a permanent stain. It ruined several pieces of nice satin, as well as an expensive doll costume, before I realized what was going on. The stains are definitely coming from the iron--I checked the ceiling and even the ironing board, they're clean and dry. I don't know where else it could be coming from. It has to be my iron! But I'm perplexed.

I decided my expensive Panasonic iron must be defective, so I bought a new, cheap iron. I deliberately didn't fill the water tank, so there would be no chance of it dripping anything on my fabric. Well, it worked fine until a couple weeks ago, and then, lo and behold, an oil spot appeared on my fabric while I was pressing it! It ruined a nice piece of silk, which ticked me off. A few days later, it ruined some rayon knit jersey. It never seems to happen when I'm pressing cheap quilting cotton, only expensive fabrics, like taffeta and satin. Which is kinda weird.

I'm truly at my wits' end. I don't know why my iron is dripping oil, I can't find anything on the subject when I Google it, and I have no idea how to fix it. But this is a problem, not only because it's ruining my fabrics, and because it's ruining my couture doll clothes, but also because I have students who use my iron while they're working on their projects. If my iron ruins something they're sewing, I'll be held responsible. I can't afford to replace their fabric, or reimburse them for the time they've spent sewing!

Does anyone have any idea what could be causing this problem? Is there any way to prevent it from happening? I'd go out and buy a new iron, but this is the second iron I've had that's done this! What guarantee do I have that a new iron won't do the same thing? I'm truly bewildered . . . and pulling my hair out!

Ketzel said:

I'm not really sure, Orianna, but here's the best I can come up with. First, I don't think your old iron was dripping oil, because I don't know where inside of an iron there would be oil to drip. My guess is there was rust in the water tank and that was coming out in the steam or the sprayer and making the indelible dark spots.

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I didn't think there would be oil inside an iron, either. The thing is, I wasn't using steam or the sprayer when it happened. I rarely use steam at all, and never use the sprayer. I have a separate water bottle to spritz the fabric if I need it damp. (More control that way.) The substance comes out of the steam holes, somehow. I've seen it happen. The stains aren't rust-colored, though. They're just . . . darkened, like the fabric is wet, except it stays even once the rest of the fabric is dry. That's what made me think grease or oil, because it seems to be a clear stain.

I'm wondering if the reason the problem has recurred with the new iron is not because of the iron, but because of the surface you're ironing on. Have you tried changing the cover and the pad on the ironing board? It seems possible to me that the board covering may have gotten saturated with something staining, but that it is only being picked up on thinner fabrics because those fabrics become damper when misted or sprayed, and thus may wet and release whatever has stained the surface.

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I thought of that. I inspected both the pad and the cover and found no spots or stains, no discoloration, nothing that might indicate they're responsible for the staining. And I recently saw the substance come out of the iron as I was using it, so it's definitely something inside the iron.

As far as protecting your valuable fabric and student work, for now you might consider putting something like muslin over the pieces you are ironing? Or maybe investing in a steamer?

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For awhile, I was using a batiste pressing cloth, but it's really hard to see what I'm doing, since it's not see-through. This would be especially hard for my students, since they aren't as experienced with pressing seams. They really have to be able to see what they're pressing. I do have a silk organza pressing cloth, which is very sheer, but it's so thin, any liquid would seep right through it. For that matter, I wasn't sure if the batiste pressing cloth would protect my fabrics, either. It's pretty lightweight. As far as a steamer, that might work for getting wrinkles out of fabric, but it wouldn't be any good for pressing seams. You really need an iron for that. :-/

Hope any of this is helpful; I'm scratching my head here, too.

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Thanks for trying to help!

Maryn said:

My first thought is that if it's happened with two different irons, it's probably not the iron.

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Except I've seen the fluid dribble out. Well, I didn't actually see it dripping from the iron, because I was ironing at the time, not looking at the bottom of my iron. But the fabric was clean and dry, and then a second later, when I moved the iron, a blob of fluid was on the fabric, which got smeared when I moved the iron. The ironing board is clean, no stains, no discoloring, no stiff patches, nothing that would indicate any problems.

I'd also recommend any new students sign a waiver in regard to damage to their projects caused by use of your equipment.

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Yes! I'd forgotten, but I have every new student sign just such a waiver. I'm not responsible if they get injured, or if their equipment gets damaged. I'll have to check and see if it covers this kind of situation, specifically, but if not, I can easily change the wording. I would still feel bad, though, if someone's project got ruined because of my iron!

Do you use your own sewing machine(s), or do the students bring their own? If it's yours, do the students oil them? Sewing machine oil applied where there isn't supposed to be any can cause spotting at the line of stitching, which might "blossom" larger when heated.

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Usually, they bring their own. Occasionally someone uses mine, but mine doesn't need to be oiled. And to be honest, I doubt any of my students oil their sewing machines, even though I remind them that it needs to be done. (I had at least one admit that she doesn't, despite my reminders.)

Is there any possibility a student put something other than distilled water into the irons' reservoirs?

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Nope. I never put water in the new iron. My old iron, I used tap water occasionally, but when I bought the new iron, I deliberately didn't fill it, or use the steam function. And my students are never left alone in the room, so they couldn't have secretly put something in the iron.

I'm just throwing out ideas here, though. I'm as mystified as you are.

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Thanks, I appreciate it. It really is a mystery! Everyone I've talked to has said they've never even heard of something like this happening. My mom offered to loan me her iron, but it won't match my sewing room (I'm OCD about things coordinating) and I don't know if it won't have the same problem, if two very different irons have done the same thing. Why not a third? Ugh.

I'm thinking of ordering another new iron, but I'm really scared that it's going to have the same problem. I mean, I've checked the ironing board cover and pad, they're clean! There's no sign of any oil or grease on them. And I've seen the spots occur, it's exactly like it's dripping oil from the steam holes in the iron. But it makes no sense!

BarII said:

I use a spray bottle too because I had the same problem. I assumed it was mold. I don't even use the cover of my whistling tea pot because I'm afraid mold can get trapped in the hard to clean void in the cover where the hole is. I just set the oven timer for 7 minutes. There are iron cleaning instructions on the internet and they make "self cleaning" irons. I use an iron without Teflon. It has a stainless steel surface and it's easier to see if something black is making its way out of the holes. If you avoid putting water in it and clean it periodically, that should be enough, but I never thought there could be a problem if no water is put into it. Maybe the steam that's created when you iron damp fabric gets into the iron and causes rust or mold. That would explain the need for cleaning.

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One of my irons, not sure which one, had cleaning directions. It was something like, fill it with water and shake it, then press the steam button while holding the iron over the sink. It should drip black stuff out, which is the deposits of minerals from the water/steam. Yuck!

I'm not sure that it's rust or mold. It's a clear stain, not reddish or black. And it's liquid, which smears across the fabric, staining it. It's very perplexing!

shakeysix said:

Surely there is a hotline help number on the boxes that the irons came in. If you don't have the boxes, google the companies. Panasonic should stand behind its product. This is weird but with two different irons there has to be someone else having the same problem. If there isn't a remedy surely there is an explanation! I'd call the numbers and demand to talk to a person, even if it meant being on hold for an hour or two.

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I will try to do that. I still have the box from the first, expensive iron. I think I threw out the cheap iron's box, but I will try calling the Panasonic number to see if anyone there can help. I would rather go back to using that iron, since it's a very nice one!

I actually have a phone phobia, it's very difficult for me to call someone I don't know, to the point of inducing a panic attack. But since this is affecting my livelihood and my business, I'll find a way to do it.

P.S. That dry iron sounds interesting! I couldn't find one at Amazon, though.

Thanks! Before calling, I decided to check Panasonic's website, and after some roundabout searching, I found their email contact form. The form only gave me 600 characters to describe the problem, and somehow, I managed to explain it with exactly 600 characters! I thought that was kinda cool. I guess being a writer and knowing how to economize words comes in handy, sometimes, LOL! They're supposed to get back to me within two days, so we'll see if they're able to help.

I've had this issue with fabric that hadn't been anywhere near the sewing machine, so I know that isn't the problem.

The thing is, if it was something that had saturated the pad or ironing board cover, wouldn't the oil stains be on the under side of the fabric? Because it would seep through from underneath, right? But the stains always looks worse on the side facing up. Also, if it was the pad or cover, wouldn't the source be visible? They both look pristine. No stains, no damp spots, no discoloration, nothing!

I don't have a spare ironing pad or cover for my ironing board, but I suppose I could try washing them, if need be. Not sure if the pad is washable, but I can look for a tag and see if it says.

I even checked my ceiling, in case it was something dripping from above! Nope.

I got an email from Panasonic that said something to the effect of, "Thanks for your inquiry. We sincerely care about your dissatisfaction. Please call our service center." Ugh, seriously!? I thought the whole reason for having an email contact was so that people wouldn't have to call you! I'm sure they'll put me on hold for an hour, then transfer me to someone who doesn't speak English. I have a hard time understanding people with accents, especially when I can't see them talking. (The reason I suspect the operator won't speak English is because whoever wrote the email was not overly familiar with the English language.)

If I unplug the iron, is it safe to insert a pipe cleaner into one of the steam holes, to see if it gets dirty or wet? I don't want to risk electrocuting myself or damaging the iron! But I would like to solve this mystery. Haven't had much time to devote to it this weekend, but perhaps this week I'll find the time to call Panasonic, or the company that made my other (newer) iron.

I never did investigate my iron with a pipe cleaner--too afraid of electrocuting myself with residual electricity. So I just bought a new iron! It's the same brand as my second iron, but a much nicer model. So far, so good. It's been several weeks and I haven't noticed any stains, but I haven't worked with any of the fabrics that got stained (satin, taffeta, etc.), so there's no telling for sure.

I still keep thinking it couldn't possibly have been the ironing board cover, since it's clean, with no stains or residue on it. But we'll see. If I get oil stains while using this iron, then it's going to be too much of a coincidence and I'll have to do something with the cover and pad. But so far, it's been fine. And I like the new iron a lot more than the old one, so there's that.