On my machine, the vent from the heating element to the steamer control was clogged. I am a trained professional, do this at your own risk! I did the following because I tried everything else and I knew that the unit was clogged at the aperature from the hot water element tank. Try to unclog it another way before doing this!
1. Unplug from the wall outlet!!! (don't skip this or you might die!) 2. Remove accessories, water holder, bottom tray, etc. 3. Remove the rubber feet and unscrew all of the screws you can find. There are some hard to find screws but it is possible to remove them all with the right screwdrivers. I broke the last screw stud thing on mine because I couldn't find the right tool for that last screw. Once I got it apart, I figured out how to do it. I cant remember now though. Just break it if you want. There are plenty of other screws holding this thing together. 4. Remove the top. 5. Follow the smallest tube to the heating element (looks like a tiny hot water heater). 6. Unbolt the tube fitting at the heating element. You may loosen the other couplers, but dont completely unscrew them, and DO NOT TUG on the small plastic tube. Once you unscrew the brass fitting, take a flashlight and look in the hole that leads into the heating tank. If yours is like mine, it will be clogged with white goo. My goo was from hard water. Take a pipe cleaner and ram it through the goo. Try to get as much goo out as you can, but it is ok to get some down into the tank. 7. Put everything back together carefully. You might want to replace the small O ring at the fitting if it is worn out. 8. Run vinegar through the system, or CLR or some other solvent that can break down the hard water residue. Plug in the unit and flush the system with cleaner but make sure to get it all out. Run alot of clean water through it.
** you might be able to just run CLR or Vinegar or some other cleaner through the system, without disassembly. I am not an expert in these things, please find out what is safe to use before trying it. I am not responsible if you get poisoned!
Answers & Comments
On my machine, the vent from the heating element to the steamer control was clogged. I am a trained professional, do this at your own risk! I did the following because I tried everything else and I knew that the unit was clogged at the aperature from the hot water element tank. Try to unclog it another way before doing this!
1. Unplug from the wall outlet!!! (don't skip this or you might die!)
2. Remove accessories, water holder, bottom tray, etc.
3. Remove the rubber feet and unscrew all of the screws you can find. There are some hard to find screws but it is possible to remove them all with the right screwdrivers. I broke the last screw stud thing on mine because I couldn't find the right tool for that last screw. Once I got it apart, I figured out how to do it. I cant remember now though. Just break it if you want. There are plenty of other screws holding this thing together.
4. Remove the top.
5. Follow the smallest tube to the heating element (looks like a tiny hot water heater).
6. Unbolt the tube fitting at the heating element. You may loosen the other couplers, but dont completely unscrew them, and DO NOT TUG on the small plastic tube. Once you unscrew the brass fitting, take a flashlight and look in the hole that leads into the heating tank. If yours is like mine, it will be clogged with white goo. My goo was from hard water. Take a pipe cleaner and ram it through the goo. Try to get as much goo out as you can, but it is ok to get some down into the tank.
7. Put everything back together carefully. You might want to replace the small O ring at the fitting if it is worn out.
8. Run vinegar through the system, or CLR or some other solvent that can break down the hard water residue. Plug in the unit and flush the system with cleaner but make sure to get it all out. Run alot of clean water through it.
** you might be able to just run CLR or Vinegar or some other cleaner through the system, without disassembly. I am not an expert in these things, please find out what is safe to use before trying it. I am not responsible if you get poisoned!
Hope this helps some!