A Pressing Matter

My husband bought me a very nice Rowenta iron for Christmas, and I have been a little surprised by the performance.  It certainly hasn't wowed me like I thought it would given Rowenta's legendary reputation.  It is leaky, and unless I have the steam setting on, it doesn't seem hot enough to press my cotton fabrics well.  The directions specified to use tap water in this model, not distilled water, which is what I have always done.

A few times in the past I have gotten brown marks on my fabrics, always at a seam when I am ironing over a slight "ridge".  The marks have been fairly minor, but I've always been nervous that something big would happen unexpectedly.

Well....Tonight it did.  I was ironing binding fabric, and when I set my hot iron down it SPUTTERED a brown, gooey liquid all over my fabric.  I'm so thankful it did not happen to the table runner top I had just finished pressing!  The stuff that came out of the iron was almost the consistency of maple syrup.  It's the strangest thing.  Once it cooled completely, I studied the plate well, and a few of the holes do seem to be clogged.

I rinsed my fabric really well in warm water and it is in the dryer now.  I couldn't tell completely when it was wet, but I think it's going to be okay.

I'm not great about sending in my warranty cards (boo) so I need to check and see if I kept the paper work for this iron.  I'm sure hoping I did because I know it was a big expense for an appliance and it should certainly last more than nine months!

Anyway......inquiring minds want to know.  How do you iron out your wrinkles?  :-)  What kind of iron do you use and what do you like about it?  I noticed a Panasonic at Target that is cordless and sits in a base.  Anyone tried anything like that before??

I'm all ears.