Scorch marks from ironing: can they be removed?

How to tell a scorch from a burn

Look at the mark in daylight and run your fingers over it, comparing it with the fabric next to it.

• Light scorch: yellowish or light brown, soft to the touch, the weave looks normal. This is surface discolouration and is worth treating.
• Heavy scorch: darker brown, slightly stiff. It may lighten but is unlikely to vanish entirely.
• Burn: dark brown or black, crisp or powdery, and the fabric gives way if you rub it gently. The fibre has broken down.
• Melt: on polyester, nylon or acetate, a hard, glossy or puckered patch, sometimes with residue on the iron. Synthetic fibres melt rather than scorch, and a melt is permanent.

Treating a light scorch on cotton or linen

Act soon, before the garment is worn or stored, and follow the care label. Test anything you use on an inside seam first.

Start simply: rinse the area in cool water, rub a little liquid detergent into it with your fingertips and wash the garment as usual. Many light scorches on white cotton come out in that first wash, because the discoloured surface fibres lift away.

If a shadow remains on white or undyed cotton, dab it with a mild hydrogen peroxide solution from a pharmacy, or use an oxygen-based stain remover exactly as its pack directs, then rinse well. Drying the garment in sunlight can lighten the rest; sun is a gentle bleach on white cotton. Do not use these on coloured fabric, prints or embroidery with coloured thread, since they can lighten the dye along with the mark.

On coloured cotton, washing is usually as far as home treatment should go. If the mark is on a precious piece, a dry cleaner can advise before you try more.

When the fabric is damaged

A real burn cannot be cleaned away, because the stain is the damaged fibre. On a kameez, the realistic options are covering or replacing: a pocket, a small motif or a lace trim over the spot, or replacing a section such as a cuff. These are jobs for a tailor near you. We do not alter or repair existing clothes, but our article on restyling an old suit has ideas for giving a damaged piece a second life.

Ironing so it does not happen again

Most scorches come from the wrong heat setting, starch or an iron left standing for a moment. Our ironing and steaming guide covers technique in detail; the short version is below.

• Set the iron for the most delicate fibre in the garment, not the toughest.
• Iron on the reverse, and use a thin cotton pressing cloth on dark colours and embroidery.
• Keep the iron moving, and stand it upright the moment you stop.
• Go easy with spray starch, which scorches quickly, and keep the soleplate clean.
• Ask what a new fabric needs when you request a quote through custom stitching; our cambric guide shows how one crisp cotton should be pressed.