joycemj: I am a chemist, and anything made with petroleum products is not necessarily carcinogenic!

Lois, I've done it this way for years for exactly the reasons you listed and more!
There is no mess on the iron, no scorched ironing surface, no flakey white stuff on the fabric, and no distortion!

Of course, it helps to have a floor that won't be damaged with the moisture and space to leave it overnight, and no critters who want to "help"!

Margo, Now that I think more about how you do your starching it makes so much sense in many ways. I think something must happen differently to the fabric starch combo when left to dry on its own. First of all it doesn't stick to the iron and I am thinking that in itself might mean it attaches itself better to the cotton fibers. The problem I have when I iron the starched fabric while it was still very damp is distortion. Just now I am remembering those Sharon Schamber's video regarding stretching and shrinking quilt blocks to size. She used starch to relax the fibers so they would stretch. When I hung 1/2 yd pieces of my starched fabric on the clothes line to dry I also had a problem with distortion. I have a clothes line on a screened-in porch so there is no problem with fading but the starched fabric stretched. It seemed as though gravity did a job on the wet starched fabric. I am going to give your method a try next time.

loise98 wrote:
Lois, I don't iron the starch dry! I lay beach towels out flat on the floor and spread my fabric over them then spray the starch until the fabric is saturated.
I leave it spread out flat until it's dry, usually overnight so I can get a running start in the morning!
When the fabric is DRY, I just iron it, usually with steam, for a perfectly flat, crisp finish, and no gunk on my iron!!!

(I mix my own starch with Sta-Flo liquid starch and water, mixed 50/50.)

I guess the fresh starch just desolves the dried on starch and it wipes off very easily. I then wipe it with a damp rag and it good to go!

Margo wrote:
Explain further, please. I am thinking lots of starch would increase the amount of "gouck" on the iron.

That's a great suggestion, Sherry, one I'll try after my Rowenta cleaner runs out. I tried the Magic Eraser & had no luck, same with dryer sheets.

Thanks for sharing your experience Sherry! Because of the way I starch my fabric, I seldom need to clean my iron, but I'll surely be keeping this in mind!

Anything made with petroleum products would be carcinogenic. But I assumed you would dampen the eraser and rub it on a cold iron. That should be OK to do with no health worries.

Hi y'all! This morning I needed to clean my iron again. This time the build-up was Magic Sizing, from ironing fabric and my work clothes. I sprayed Magic Sizing on a paper towel and wiped down my COLD iron and it was clean in seconds. Didn't have to buy iron cleaner, no steaming Magic Eraser, no worries about burning myself. Awesome.

anne1 wrote: I'm guessing a lot of people don't know about it. The company probably doesn't want us to know!

Hi Anne,(Editor Anne)
I'm sorry I did not know about the carcinogens when I posted, so it maybe best not to use it.
Anne

anne1 wrote: Be careful with that product. It contains a known carcinogen.

As I know it, you have another drink the morning after --of the same liquor that gave you the hangover.

Love the iron cleaning tips. I use the tube of cleaner but it isn't always easy to find in my small town. Will start saving my dryer sheets after use and try the magic eraser too