Why Has My Steam Iron Stopped Steaming?

Your steam iron has been working well all along. Then, out of the blue, you discover that the steam feature is no longer functioning. No steam is emitting from the vents on the soleplate. What is happening? Why has the steam iron stopped steaming?

There could be a few reasons why this is happening. Sometimes, this is nothing more than a silly mistake while at other times, the iron is indeed faulty.

Wrong Dial Setting

A steam iron needs to be hot enough for steam to be generated. Hence, the temperature dial must be set at a certain level before the steam function kicks in. I think most people would know how their iron works.

However, there are times when we could have accidentally knocked on the dial and lowered its settings without realizing what we have done. It is easy to change the settings as a lot of steam irons have their temperature dial just below the handle. So, when we grab it, our knuckles might knock the dial and the settings are changed.

Thus, check your dial settings first if there is no steam output. It might seem like a no-brainer but there are people who hardly fiddle with the dial each time they plug in their iron.

Inadequate Water In The Tank

Similarly, little or no steam would be generated if the water level is low. This is obvious for most people but perhaps not so, for first time users of steam irons. They might assume that steam would be emitted as long as the tank is not completely empty.

Thus, if they have only a single shirt to iron, they might fill only a small amount of water into the tank. Then, they would be left wondering why their clothes iron is not steaming. In fact, a lot of irons’ steam output is more efficient when the tank is full before it tapers off as the water level drops. Hence, make sure your tank has adequate amount of water in it for optimal steam generation even if you are only ironing a single piece of clothing.

Clogged Vents

This is a common reason why your steam iron has stopped steaming. There is a clog in the system which is typically due to limescale. Some irons will have a blinking light to warn you that it is time to descale. Many models have a self-cleaning feature too. The safest way is to refer back to the manual on how to use the self-cleaning function.

Other common hacks for this problem is to dilute vinegar with equal parts of water and pour it into the water tank. Turn on your iron at medium high setting and let it steam for a few minutes. Then, hold the iron horizontally over a rag and press the steam trigger button a few times to flush out all the impurities. Once you are done, pour away any remaining water in the tank.

Just bear in mind that it is a good practice to clean your steam iron regularly to prevent limescale buildup so that the steam function will always be in tip-top condition. Learn to take care of your steam iron so that you can prolong its lifespan.

Defective Thermostat

If the thermostat is defective, the iron would not be able to heat up properly or if at all. When that happens, not only there will be no steam output, the iron will also be leaking drops of water. This is simply because of a lack of heat which is required to turn the water into steam.

The fault could lie in the adjustable thermostat which controls the heat setting, the control thermostat which regulates the temperature or the safety thermostat which will cut off the power supply to the iron when it overheats. Any problem with one of these will trigger a loss of heat or too much heat and consequently, steam output will be affected as well.

Temperature Dial Is Damaged

The temperature dial is used to set the heat level for different types of fabric. When you turn it, information is sent to the thermostat to emit the right amount of heat. However, if the dial is damaged, the correct information would not be able to reach the thermostat. So, even if you turn the dial to the highest setting, the thermostat may not register. As a result, the steam generated would also be affected.

If Your Iron Has Really Stopped Steaming…

Lastly, the chore is already hard as it is and many don’t enjoy ironing at all. When you don’t know why your steam iron has stopped steaming, the frustration might just boil over. So, just calm down and check your iron dial setting and water tank first. If those are fine, then clean your iron as per the manual’s instructions.

If cleaning doesn’t solve the problem, chances are there is a faulty part in the iron that needs to be repaired. In that case, it may still be worth it to send it for repair especially if it is a $100 iron and still under warranty. Otherwise, you will have to decide if buying a new one would be a better option and subsequently, what to do with your old iron.