Proctor Silex Steam Iron from the late 60's early 70's

Funny you should bring up irons today, though. Yesterday I needed to iron something, so I picked a vintage iron from my collection to use. It's the only one I trust. Note that. For the heck of it, I decided to take it apart to make sure it was sound. Well, it wasn't. One of the cord wires had a loose connection, and that connection had clearly overheated (probably a lot in the past), thus that screw was stuck so I couldn't just tighten it. So a good part of today was spent knocking it all down, torching the stuck screw, polishing it, and replacing the cord. I liked the original cord, but sadly the rubber insulation was crumbling, even a few inches down. Also, it was very much filled with asbestos. I made sure to inhale as much as I could.

So, yes I have a modest iron collection. Unfortunately, it's not an area of my expertise. I will say, though, vinegar is pretty diluted as is (5%?), I don't think vinegar and water would really de-calcify anything any time soon. Especially not if it was so badly clogged as to not steam at all. Could try straight vinegar, or maybe CLR. Or do what I did and tear it apart.


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Post# 419942 2/12/2020 at 20:05 (1,533 days old) by Louvac (A)
Checkrate/Likes Hey Guys! Anyone an iron collector, also? I have a Proctor Silex steam iron model I913L that will not steam no matter I have tried to do, including using a solution of white vinegar and water to unclog it. It doesn't seem to be clogged and it doesn't appear to have been used very much. What gives?

Post# 419958 , Reply# 1 2/13/2020 at 00:38 (1,533 days old) by MadMan (Chicago, IL, USA)
Checkrate/Likes 3 Funny you should bring up irons today, though. Yesterday I needed to iron something, so I picked a vintage iron from my collection to use. It's the only one I trust. Note that. For the heck of it, I decided to take it apart to make sure it was sound. Well, it wasn't. One of the cord wires had a loose connection, and that connection had clearly overheated (probably a lot in the past), thus that screw was stuck so I couldn't just tighten it. So a good part of today was spent knocking it all down, torching the stuck screw, polishing it, and replacing the cord. I liked the original cord, but sadly the rubber insulation was crumbling, even a few inches down. Also, it was very much filled with asbestos. I made sure to inhale as much as I could. So, yes I have a modest iron collection. Unfortunately, it's not an area of my expertise. I will say, though, vinegar is pretty diluted as is (5%?), I don't think vinegar and water would really de-calcify anything any time soon. Especially not if it was so badly clogged as to not steam at all. Could try straight vinegar, or maybe CLR. Or do what I did and tear it apart.

Post# 419988 , Reply# 2 2/13/2020 at 20:31 (1,532 days old) by Louvac (A)
Checkrate/Likes Thanks! I will also try the Keurig Coffee maker cleaner and see it that works. Stay Tuned!

Post# 419989 , Reply# 3 2/13/2020 at 20:51 (1,532 days old) by Louvac (A)
Checkrate/Likes Thanks! I will also try the Keurig Coffee maker cleaner and see it that works. Stay Tuned!

Post# 421646 , Reply# 4 3/14/2020 at 23:44 (1,502 days old) by kirbyklekter (Concord,Ca.)
Checkrate/Likes 1 *Hows your steam iron?* I was wondering if your model iron has the push button for a burst of steam feature. Not sure if they had that back then. If it does, I would try the CLR full strength or slightly diluted. Id try it even without the power burst button. Maybe set it on end for a while then lay it flat on the sole plate, turned off of course and let it sit over night. Hold it over the sink and shake it or rock it back and forth to get the juices flowing. You can try using an open paper clip or whatever to clean the little vent holes where the steam normally comes out on the ironing surface plate. As MadMan said you can always take it apart for cleaning.