How can I reuse or recycle an old steam iron?
We’ve had an email from Judith:
My electric steam iron gave up the ghost last year. I was told it was not economical to repair it and had to buy a new one pretty quickly. The old one has been sitting in the cupboard ever since as I hate to landfill it.
Any ideas?
Yes, irons are in the same “annoying cheaper to replace than fix” category with toasters, kettles and numerous other household electricals. Grrr.
As a minimum, in the UK, you can take it along to your local household waste collection spot for proper disposal and recycling where possible and for proper disposal where that’s not an option – many retailers also have “take-back” schemes when you buy your replacement from them.
But what about reuses? If it’s not too heavy, it might be suitable for children playing house – but any other ideas?
(Worrying photo by lusi – people iron towels???)
Just because it costs to fix something, does that mean we shouldn’t fix it? Sometimes I think it’s worth paying to fix something, instead of buying another. Where I live, there are people who collect scrap metal and take it to recycling centres. An old iron would do. I’m sure kids would like to play house with it too.
Hi, sorry, I think I phrased that badly.
Of course if you can fix it, you should try to fix it – John always fiddles around with our stuff to try to repair it when it breaks, sometimes with success, other times not so much. I think at that point, you might as well try to fix it because you’re not going to break it any further – you might get it working again (at least for a little while) or it might stay broken, no loss.
Supporting local repair shops (where they still exist) is also a good thing if like me, you’re likely to get a capacitor lodged in your eye as soon as you even think about getting the soldering iron out – but the financial costs is often a snagging point there: this article is an interesting read about that side of things.
I think the key thing is to think long-term when you buy things: don’t go for the cheapest option, go for the one that will work for years and is easy to fix if something goes wrong.
-louisa
Dress it up and use it as a door stop?
bookend
door stop
paperweight
Use them to make toast :D
if you know someone that snowboards, they can use it to wax their board! (skiiers too..)
Donate it to a local school or theater to use in their plays as a prop.
Glue sand paper on a bottom and use to polish flat surface.
Use as a press when gluing, or drying flowers. For extra weight, fill iron with salt instead of water.
Use as plastering tool on horizontal surface.
Glue or screw it to the wall in a closet or garage and hang scarves, belts, cables or rope through the handle.
Turn it into table lamp.
Use it as weight for exercise.
Iron with it by heating it on a stove.
Give it to a child to take it apart and put together. Children love it!
WEEE it.
bookend
door stop
paperweight
Glue sand paper on a bottom and use to polish flat surface.
Use as a press when gluing, or drying flowers. For extra weight, fill iron with salt instead of water.
Use as plastering tool on horizontal surface.
Glue or screw it to the wall in a closet or garage and hang scarves, belts, cables or rope through the handle.
Turn it into table lamp.
Use it as weight for exercise.
Iron with it by heating it on a stove.
Give it to a child to take it apart and put together. Children love it!
Donate it to a local school or theater to use in their plays as a prop.
LOL
I think the rag and bone man took ours – they must have some way of re-cycling all the random things they collect ; )
Decorate it to look like a big mouse. Remove the cord & give it an upright movable tail with feathers. Fill it with salt for weight and put some catnip in there last. My cat loves his new “friend”.
I also have another one that is a big help in the kitchen! Cut off the cord and you have a fantastic bacon press (fill with salt for weight).
If you peel a lot of fresh raw garlic (I do) use an old iron! Remove the cord, set the cloves on a cutting board & press to crush them with the iron. As the garlic compresses the skins pop right off. Garlic toast anyone?
Also, believe it or not I’ve heard that hundreds of people are treated in E.R.s every year for sustaining nasty cuts while trying to slice bagels.
Try this: Put a bagel on the cutting board. Now press down on it with an iron and use a serrated bread knife to slice it horizontally. The iron holds the bagel still and keeps your hand and fingers completely safe.
I am from the States. I usually unscrew the plastic from the metal which is often doable. I chuck the plastic in the plastic recycle bin and throw the metal onto those large mountainous heaps of discarded metals that are often found in almost any town and certainly big city.