The bottom of my rowenta focus has a burnt grainy film on it. How do I clean it and prevent it from happening again. I've only used it approx 4 times but it is over a year old.

I have provided a link to a manual that seems to belong to your model. But unsure what features your model has. This is not available for some reason at the Rowenta USA website.
Refer page 7 of the manual available at this site
http://laundry.manualsonline.com/manuals/mfg/rowenta/1103898336__4605.html?p=1

Self Clean - prolongs the life of the iron
The Self clean function flushes dirt and scale particles
out of the steam chamber.
To operate:
• Fill the tank with untreated tap water up to the maximum
mark and heat the iron to max. temperature.
• Unplug from the mains.
• Hold iron over a sink horizontally, push the steam control
3 past the position and into the Self Clean position
and hold it there: steam will now begin to build up.
After a few seconds water and steam will emerge from
the soleplate, rinsing dirt and scale particles out of the
steam chamber.

After approx. 1 minute move the steam control slide to
the position.
• Insert mains plug and allow the iron to heat up again.
• Wait until the remaining water has evaporated.
• Unplug from the mains and allow iron to fully cool
down.
• When cool, the soleplate can be wiped with a damp
cloth.
We recommend using the Self Clean function approx.
Every 2 weeks. If the water is very hard, the iron should
be cleaned weekly.
Self Clean Valve
The self clean valve prevents the drip hole into the steam
chamber from furring or blocking up. To ensure the iron
continues to function properly, open and close the valve
by sliding the steam control to max then min a few times
after use.

Do not over fill it try using 1/2 the water

If you mean bottled drinking water, that is full of mineral salts, no good. Use demineralised or distilled water from the supermarket, it is cheap.

Clean the iron first like this

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_can_you_clean_rust_in_a_steam_iron

please read carefully the owner manual and get the information about how to use the steam.
download from www. fitness.manualsonline.com

God bless you

I have used the following for various iron cleanings. None have damaged my irons. Baking soda

Hi,
Here is a tip that will help you with that problem...

Cleaning a Steam Iron Soleplate
heatman101

Hi,
Here is a tip that will help you with that problem...

Cleaning a Steam Iron Soleplate
http://www.fixya.com/support/r5301167-cleaning_steam_iron_soleplate

heatman101

You want to run the self-clean mode. Fill with water, then over a sink, with the iron facing down, press the self-clean button. Steam will eject, along with sediment and water deposits. You may have to repeat numerous times. The iron requires soft water, if you don't have soft water at the tap then buy bottled water at the grocery store to prevent this problem.

You can also buy a cleaning solution that you mix into the water reservoir, or you can make your own by filling the iron half-full of water then add white vinegar to the fill line, then perform the self-clean mode or steam mode over a sink.

Here is a Rowenta suggestions:

The iron is leaking.


Water: Use tap water in the iron. If tap water is hard or high in organic matter, we recommend using bottled spring water or mix tap water with distilled. Do NOT use 100% distilled water. Many softening systems may cause issues as well.
Auto-Off: If iron is equipped with auto off, you need to move iron or gently shake it an allow it to heat back up before beginning to iron.
Overuse of Burst of Steam: Allow more time between each burst of steam.

The Rowenta site does not list a manual for your older model, but here is their link:

http://www.rowentausa.com/rowenta/frame.aspx

First with the iron cold fill the reservoir with white vinegar.  I would let this sit for a few hours and then pour the vinegar out of the iron. I would do this a couple of times until you see the mold is removed from reservoir. Next fill again with vinegar and run the iron on the steam setting, steaming a clean rag or towel until all of the vinegar is steamed out of the reservoir.  The vinegar will also remove any mineral deposits built up in the iron.
Next rinse the reservoir by filling it with water and emptying it completely a few times.  Follow this by filling it completely with water again and setting the iron to steam setting.  Use another clean rag or towel and steam it until all of the water has been steamed out of the reservoir.
In the future make sure to completely empty your iron after every use to prevent mineral build up and mold growth

I have purchased two Rowenta irons. Both have the problem with water leakage. The entire iron looses all of it's water....both in the stand up position and the sitting down position. This happened after a couple of months for both items. I contacted Rowenta and they never responded. I will never purchase another item from them. Obviously, the irons must be defective. I'm going to contact consumer affairs.