Fragile ironwork or iron objects with surface coatings or organic components cannot be successfully treated with chemical reducing agents such as alkaline sulfite or amines, but may require some desalination even if the chloride content cannot be completely removed. Whilst the aqueous washing of iron for desalination is a well-known process, it is not generally appreciated that the best conditions for washing are those which make use of inert, nonoxidizing atmospheres. The Soxhlet extractor purged with nitrogen, employing distilled water to effect chloride ion removal, is not widely used in current conservation practice, and the paper presented here seeks to draw attention to some of the advantages of the method. The washing process is automatic, and several small objects can be treated at the same time. The size of the objects which can be treated is limited only by the dimensions of the Soxhlet chamber itself.