Bob & list, Depress the pump. Now hold it like you were holding a dagger, with your thumb on the pump and bring your thumb back to ward your wrist. It's just the rubber seal between the pump and the iron that you must compress. .... I looked at it a long time before I got it out. 73, Kurt W7QHD (since 1951) web page: http://W7QHD.tripod.com