Iron low temperature fabrics first to reduce the warm-up time and use a thermostatically-controlled iron that switches itself off when the correct temperature is reached, or switch the iron off once it has reached the correct temperature and finish the ironing on stored energy. Use distilled water in steam irons because the distilled water is pure and has not got the minerals that everyday tap water contains. These minerals can cause build up in your steam iron and your iron won’t function as it should. It will become less efficient and take longer to heat up. The steam is prevented from fully escaping and will need more energy to emit the required amount of steam.