Patent ID: 8161662

Claim:
A method for operating a laundry appliance including a housing including a substantially circular housing opening closable by a door, a substantially cylindrical container disposed within the housing and including a substantially circular container opening and configured to receive laundry for treatment, a steam generating device including a heating element, an inlet opening and an outlet opening for steam, and a nozzle disposed in a region of the container opening, the method comprising: activating the heating element until a temperature of the steam generating device reaches a predetermined upper limit in a range of 160° C. to 200° C.; introducing water into a tank of the steam generating device at a predetermined flow rate in a range of 1.6 to 5 ml/sec; measuring a temperature of the steam generating device as the water is introduced; reducing a flow rate of the water to a reduced flow rate in a range of 0.3 to 1.5 ml/sec when the temperature of the steam generator device drops below a lower limit in a range of 100° C. to 140° C.; increasing the flow rate of the water, starting at a low value, when the temperature of the steam generating device increases to a value above the lower limit and below the upper limit; and continuously operating the heating element at a predetermined power level.