The 15 most frequent breakdowns in ironing centers

We are going to try to create the most complete post, more exhaustive and clarifying on the internet about breakdowns in ironing centers, their possible solution and necessary spare parts. WE WARN YOU: it is going to be long and dense, so we better divide it into 3 parts…

What is an ironing center

The ironing centers (from now on we will use the terms boiler plate O Ironing center interchangeably) are household appliances that contain a certain complexity. Inside it there are a multitude of complex components (in some cases, the number of functional spare parts of a boiler iron is surprisingly high). They perform various functions to achieve two main objectives:

1. Transform the water contained in a tank into steam with a more or less intense pressure.
2. Maintain the resistance of the iron at a high and constant temperature.

How to identify my ironing center

Although on the outside the ironing centers may appear similar, there is a lot of types depending on the mechanical system with which the steam flow is achieved.

Before knowing the most frequent breakdowns in an ironing center,.com important to know how to identify the type since each one has different parts and breakdowns can vary greatly. To simplify, we are going to group them into three main types:

1. Continuous steam ironing centers (also known commercially as unlimited autonomy) with boiler and solenoid valve. If you can iron for as long as necessary, simply by filling the tank, and when you press the steam button you hear a click in the part of the boiler; this is your kind of iron.
2. ironing centers continuous steam injection steam: with pump and “exchanger”. These ironing centers can be identified because, when pressing the steam, the typical sound of the opening of the solenoid valve is not produced (a clack characteristic).
3. Climited autonomy ironing inserts: with boiler and safety cap. If your ironing center has a safety cap and when the water in the boiler runs out you have to wait a bit, fill the boiler and reheat the appliance, your iron is of this type.

Now that you know your type of ironing center, we will tell you what the most frequent breakdowns are. From now on we are going to list the spare parts that cause the most common breakdowns that ironing centers can suffer, explaining the possible causes of each breakdown, possible solutions and ways to avoid breakage. Also, in each case, we will clarify to what type of boiler plate each of the breakdowns can be applied. As you can see, ironing centers are a complex universe 🤣.

 

Why does my ironing center break? Main spare parts for ironing centers

The deposit of the ironing center is broken

In ironing centers with unlimited autonomy, the first fault we can find is the tank breaking: due to falls, if the ironing center tank is removable, or due to the action of water scales, it can cause leaks. You can find deposits for ironing centers here.

The ironing center plug has a steam leak

The cap, as a functional part, can only be found in the limited autonomy irons; the unlimited autonomy irons cover the tank with a casing that has a purely aesthetic function. He stopper is a safety replacement which seals the boiler so that it can begin to build pressure. Inside, the plugs of the ironing centers have a safety valve that opens in the event of an excessive increase in pressure. This safety valve, over time, and due to the corrosion caused by the lime present in the water, can stop closing correctly, causing unjustified leaks through the plug.

There are also internal safety valves inside the appliance that act in a similar way to avoid risks with steam pressure: they are a kind of plugs that open to prevent the appliance from having excess pressure.

Therefore, on occasions, pressure leaks occur through the plug due to excess pressure caused by a fault in the pressure switch.

There boiler resistance it does not work

In all types of ironing centers there are resistors that heat the water to turn it into steam. Yeah no steam comes out of the iron, we must check if the resistance works correctly. Sometimes the manufacturer sells them together with the boiler or the exchanger, but many Rowenta or Tefal models have an independent resistance from the boiler. Normally the resistance is damaged by continued use of the appliance,.com say,.com a part that wears out normally and can break, but it can also happen that the…

fault in boiler thermostat from an ironing center

Thermostats regulate the temperature at which the boiler works, are associated with resistance and, if they are damaged, they can cause deformations in the boiler, the iron does not emit steam, it emits water instead of steam, or even, due to excess pressure, water leaks. inside the appliance. Boilers and exchangers, depending on the case, usually work with two or three thermostats, one establishes the optimum temperature for creating pressure inside the boiler, another is in charge of making water enter the boiler from the tank and In addition, there may be another safety thermostat. Yes, the thermostat thing is bad milk.

 

There Water Pump it does not work

We have just explained that there is a thermostat that causes water to enter the boiler. And how? Thanks to the pipe. The pump moves the water from the tank to the interior of the boiler, where the steam will be formed. Therefore, if the boiler does not take water AND the thermostats are working correctly,.com The fault with the iron is probably in the pump. This also works the other way around: if the boiler does not take water AND if the pump works well, the fault is probably in the boiler thermostats.

on the plates with steam exchanger, the pump is a small part, with a minimum pressure output and very little power, so it is essential, in these irons, to take care of the quality of the water to avoid calcifications that cause an obstruction.

 

Fault in the pressure switch

 

The pressure switch is in charge of limiting the pressure inside the plate boilers with a boiler (there are no pressure switches on injection plates today). If he pressure switch suffers a breakdown, the boiler pressure may be excessive, which would cause leaks through its safety valve. This can also be understood the other way around..com that is, if there is a leak in the safety valve of the boiler (you can see it inside the mechanical parts of the ironing centers),.com I recommend keeping an eye on the pressure switch.

Boiler maintenance

Little to explain here: it is the main part of creating steam pressure. It is unlikely that it will break on its own, since it is the parts associated with it that suffer the most wear. Of course, it can be affected by limescale in the water and the rest of the impurities that accumulate. It is HIGHLY recommended to clean the boiler regularly (in this and this video you can see examples of cleaning in different ironing centers) and to descale with specific products (those in this category).

 

Ironing center exchanger

In irons with unlimited autonomy but without a boiler, the part that produces the steam is a tubular resistance through which cold water passes and becomes steam. The water pipes of this spare part are very small, so any calcification can clog them. It is advisable to pay special attention to the quality of the water in these irons, which is why many of them have a filter.

 

When to change the water filter of my iron

The water filters are refills that purify water, improving its quality and avoiding breakdowns. The filter is a part that must be changed with an established frequency, depending on the manufacturer and model. In steam exchanger irons it is a particularly necessary part, so it is advisable to change them periodically. Also remember that if your iron is not equipped with a water filter,.com It is necessary to pay special attention to its cleaning and decalcification.

There electrovalvula it does not work

An essential piece in boiler plates with unlimited autonomy with boiler and in those with limited autonomy. That is to say: if the iron really has a boiler -not an injector or steam exchanger- you need a solenoid valve to regulate the output of steam pressure from the boiler. Solenoid valves are spare parts with two parts: a mechanical valve that opens or closes the outlet of the boiler and an electrical coil that gives the order to the valve. This gives us a lot of information:

1. If the boiler has steam pressure AND the electrical signal when pressing the steam button on the iron reaches the coil (and it sounds clack!, clack!), but the valve does not open,.com that it is blocked and you have to change the part.
2. If the boiler has steam pressure AND the electrical signal from pressing the steam button on the iron reaches the coil, but it does not sound clack!, clack!, the coil of the ironing center is damaged and this part of the ironing center must be replaced.
3. If the iron does not steam because the necessary electrical impulse does not even reach the coil of the solenoid valve. So, friends, two things can happen… steam button or monotube.

The steam button of the iron has been damaged

It is the electrical part that is under the trigger of our iron. It is the one that gives the signal to the solenoid valve to open the steam from the boiler in irons with unlimited autonomy with boiler and in those with limited autonomy. In steam injection irons, the button activates the steam injection. If the steam output signal does not activate, it may be due to an electrical problem or the location of this part or something else, which comes right after...

Monotube

This is the replacement part conducts steam from the boiler to the resistance of the iron and also has the necessary electrical connections for its operation. The monotube carries electricity to the resistance and also carries the signal from the steam button back to the boiler solenoid valve.

The truth is that the main tube that suffers damage in an ironing rod is the monotube: it is the main tube that joins the part of the boiler with the part of the iron. The monotube breaks due to wear. There is no other option, you can put a monotube protector (like this one) to avoid breakage, but there is not much else that can be done to avoid damage.

 

Resistance/iron sole

There iron resistance.com really the one in charge of ironing clothes. Hers reaches the electrical signal to the monotube terminals on the iron, but the resistance does not heat, the fault is clear. EYE! Sometimes it seems that the resistance of the iron heats up, but not very much, therefore the steam, when it reaches the soleplate, turns into water and the iron spits out water with dirt. It is likely that the resistance is not really heating and in fact we are only noticing the heat of the water that comes from the boiler.

 

Switches, cables...

Here we can say little. They are in charge of powering the appliance electrically. If our ironing center does not get power, it is normal to first check the state of master switch, which is a piece that tends to break down; and the power cord. This part has little mystery. But… what if we have checked that all of the above works correctly and the iron continues to work badly, there is excess pressure, water leaks, it turns off when it wants to, or it stops steaming unjustifiably? Well, almost always the solution is the same:

electronic modules and control

As household appliances have been modernized and have acquired new functions - more or less useful, make no mistake - parts have been introduced that necessarily had to control the functions of all parts of the appliance. Our appliances had legs and arms (valves and cables), heart (caldera), eyes and ears (thermostats and pressure switches) … but suddenly they needed a brain that organized all these parts. When all the parts work separately, but there is a problem whose root we can't find, the fault probably comes from the control board, a brain, which organizes all the operations.

 

 

 

In conclusion

Repairing an iron without any prior knowledge is quite complicated, opening the casings and finding a jumble of cables, tubes and electrical parts that sometimes show no visible signs of failure, makes our first impulse to close the casings again and quickly tighten the bolts. screws: "Hala, well it would be”. But, with a bit of knowledge and using logic, everything can be simplified a bit. We can extend the life of our appliances, save money and produce much less waste in our landfills. We hope that this little guide will make many ironing centers have a second or third life.