Philips Support

My Philips Steam Iron/Steam Generator is leaking from the soleplate

Published on 30 November 2023
If brown water or white flakes come out of the soleplate of your Philips Steam Iron, please refer to section A below.

If clear water comes out of the soleplate of your Philips Steam Iron, please refer to the section B below.
Are you using your iron for the first time?

During the very first use, white flakes may come out from the soleplate of your Philips Steam Iron. This is normal and will stop shortly.

Have you used perfumed water or a descaling solution?

Your Philips Steam Iron is not suitable for using perfumed/odourised water as it can damage the device. Please rinse the water tank, fill it up with tap water and descale your iron. You can follow the steps for descaling your Philips Iron here.

Note: If you live in a hard water area, always use distilled or demineralised water (50% demineralised/distilled water mixed with 50% clear water could be used as well) to prolong the lifetime of the device.

Have you just descaled your iron?

For Steam Generator Iron models: Some remaining water from descaling may have come out from the soleplate of your iron. Please make some ironing strokes without pressing the steam button.

For Steam Iron models: You may see some remaining water from descaling come out from the soleplate of your ironTurn the steam setting to the "no steam" position by using the "steam/no steam" selector on top of the handle of your iron for dry ironing.
Have you been storing your iron for a month or longer?

Please hold your Philips Steam Iron away from the garment and press the steam button continuously for 30 seconds to release steam.

Is your ironing board wet?

Steam may condense on the board cover, particularly when using irons that produce powerful levels of steam. This can look like your iron is leaking from the soleplate. To prevent this, you can do the following:

1. Select a lower steam setting than the setting that you have been using or use steam during the first ironing strokes and then finish up with the dry-ironing strokes. If your iron has the ECO mode available, push the ECO button on the base to decrease the steam level.
2. You can also put an extra layer of felt between the ironing board and the ironing board cover to minimise condensation.
3. Replace the ironing board cover if the sponge material has worn out. 

Have you set the temperature too low on the dial?

Please make sure that you set the temperature to the steaming zone (2-dot or above) on the temperature dial, as shown in the image below, before releasing steam. Then, let your Philips Steam Iron heat up in heel-rest position for one minute before you resume ironing. 

Note: The image is for illustration purposes only and may differ from the dial of specific models.

Did none of the solutions above solve the issue? Please contact us for further assistance.


 
Contact Philips

We are happy to help you

Looking for something else?

Discover all Philips Support options

Our site can best be viewed with the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome or Firefox.