RPM trouble

Alright so upon getting the car this was never an issue. Recently whenever i start the vehicle and throttle i cant throttle too fast or the rpm's will jump really high and stay there unless i accelerate more slowly.It's a standard and before you tell me to shift i have been driving standard for years. Like if i want to pull out on to the road in front of other vehicles i cannot accelerate fast because the rpm's will jump to almost 6k. someone recommended i clean the iac but i tried and i was afraid i might mess something up by disconnecting so i gave up... is there anyway to clean the iac without taking this whole system apart? and is the IAC even the culprate here? advice?