Cleaning inside holes of a steam iron soleplate?

[jeromedawg]

Hey all,

Curious what the best way is to clean the holes/channels out of a steam iron soleplate. I'm not talking about getting the surface grime off. I've done the baking soda/water trick and it works fine for that. I'm talking about getting the *insides* of those holes cleared out. Mine has built up gunk/scale/rust/residue that's dark brown/reddish. It seems as though an endless amount keeps coming out no matter how many times I shake/hit it with the iron on and also after pressing the steam function.
I think it's likely a combination of rust and probably debris. I'm scared to put vinegar in the reservoir as I don't want the steam coming out wreaking of vinegar (and later making all our clothes smell like it too).

Any tips/tricks on how to clear these holes out? Thus far I've been using a paperclip but I think I need something like a pipe cleaner or tube brush. Not sure if there's a better/easier way to do this though.

[Cranky]

My current iron has a self cleaning cycle that blows that crud mostly out!

With previous irons I’ve loosened the crud up and then yes, I’ve used vinegar. After a vinegar cycle I’d run a cycle with water. It’s worked pretty well, but I don’t mind vinegar and use it to clean lots of things.

I believe there is a specific iron cleaning solution sold for this, but my iron isn’t so expensive that I e felt the need to use anything more expensive than vinegar.

[SunnyDays]

Put the iron in a shallow pan and fill with CLR until it covers the plate.  Let it soak for hours, then try blowing water out the steam holes.  I've given up putting water in the reservoir when I iron due to exactly this problem, and instead just use a spray bottle.

[jeromedawg]

Put the iron in a shallow pan and fill with CLR until it covers the plate.  Let it soak for hours, then try blowing water out the steam holes.  I've given up putting water in the reservoir when I iron due to exactly this problem, and instead just use a spray bottle.

Nice. I have a small amount of Limeaway left so just sprayed the holes and have the iron sitting upside down haha. I'll probably keep it that way for half an hour at most. I think this stuff generally works pretty quick to remove deposits/scale/rust/etc.