Left iron on

so.... i got home and the light on my soldering iron was blinking. that means it had been on for several hours. the tip was all black. i tined it a few times and its pretty silver now... did i do any damage? should i get a new tip? was just the tip or was the iron damaged?

david

No the tip is not damaged but the copper inside is corroded due to its reaction with atmospheric gases at high temperature forming layers of black oxide. Just clean it with wet sponge.

but not while it is hot. but it is recommended to change the tip once in a while, because it oxidates inside of the iron too, so it doesnt conduct heat so well.

Most soldering stations comes with a small bowl and sponge inside it. You have to alwyas keep the sponge wet with water. This is used to clean the tip of hot soldering iron while soldering.