Black & Decker Digital Advantage D1200 - Steam iron with auto shut-off

My iron all of a sudden stopped heating up and produced an error message. Unfortunately the user manual doesn't address any error messages. When it was actually working, I loved it. Too bad it's dead.

I had this iron for about two weeks and was really happy with it- until it caught on fire! I was using as usual this morning and when I had it in the upright position (not plate down) a loud beeping sound happened and I saw smoke pouring out of the top of the iron and the strong smell of something burning. Needless to say I unplugged it and ran outside before any major damage happened, but I will never buy another Black and Decker iron again!

The iron went bad after less than 6 months: it started with a partial contact - going on and off..... I guess the wires weren't well-soldered or something close. I tried to open it but as a special screw was used - and it's beenn useless ever since. Unfortunately, I've misplaced my receipt and now I'm stuck with this red herring!

B&D added a button for auto clean -- but nothing happens when the button is pushed. How does the auto clean function work? It needs to be cleaned, so if you could let us know the secret, I'd appreciate it.

I have this iron for 2 years now. This is not my first Black and Decker steam iron. When I had trouble with the other Black & Decker iron's power cord (I think that the contacts at the point of contact betwee the body & cord may have built up oxidation preventing good contact), I contacted customer support. Because I had registered it when I bought it, they sent me this steam iron (provided I send them the cut off plug from the first along with a return authorization number that they provided.) I am pleased with the customer support they offer. This steam iron works very well. It has a stainless steel sole plate, so if I have any build up I can remove it with any solvent or even a razor if I wish (on a cool, unplugged iron, of course.) There is plenty of steam and it gives generous, strong 'poofs' of steam when the button is pushed. The temperature dial is infinate, allowing me to adjust for any fabric and it heats up nice and quick. A lit-up digital screen informs me of what type of fabric is suitable for the temperature dialed. It stands up nice and solid (not too easy to tip over.) I like how the toe sticks out so I can get into smallish areas. And it has a nice weight to it, so that I do not have to lean on the fabric to get the stubborn wrinkles out. My only complaint is that the water tank is made of a dark amber color so that it is hard to tell how much water I have in there. I have to turn the steam iron so that the water catches the light in order to see what the level is.