A new iron....

I am an iron killer. I don't know how I do it, but irons just don't last at my house. It probably has something to do with the fact that I tend to knock them off the board and onto the floor every now and then. Seriously, don't you think an iron should be able to take that sort of abuse?

I bought a new iron yesterday to replace my now way-to-leaky older iron. Because I do tend to kill irons, I don't spend a lot of money on them. I found a Shark Professional model for under $50.

So, I read the instructions (I really did) and plugged it in. I turned it to its highest heat setting and started ironing. But it wasn't gliding the way it should... It took me a bit to actually look at the sole plate and to my horror I saw a sticker that I should have removed before ironing. Where was that in the instructions!? I let it cool and scraped off what I could (see photo).

I tried heating it back up and using an iron cleaner to remove the remaining goo - that didn't work. I let it cool again and finally got it clean with Goo-Gone. I can now say that it's a very nice iron! It heats up quickly, is heavy, glides well, and the steam works. Oh happy day!