How to Get Burn Stains Out of Clothes

If you've managed to scorch a few garments during ironing, you will need a few hints to get those annoying burn stains out of your clothes. While burn stains in clothes are as common as wine, grass, grass and ink stains, you can fix any burn-scorched, clothing errors with a coin, small brush, hydrogen peroxide, laundry detergent and linen spray. Armed with these steps you can tackle burn stains--made from a too-hot iron--the easy way while adding a new home repair solution to your stain-removal bag of tricks.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A clean coin (penny, dime, quarter)
• Hydrogen peroxide
• Liquid detergent
• Scented linen spray
• Brush

1. Rub the scorched material with the coin. Lay the item of clothing flat on an ironing board or table. Gently rub the burn stain with the edge of a coin using the ribbed texture to loosen the scorched fibers.

2. Treat the remaining scorched material with hydrogen peroxide. For white cotton and linen fabrics only, place a dampened white cloth soaked in peroxide over the stain. Press a hot iron over the cloth to loosen the remaining scorched fibers.

3. Launder washable fabrics with liquid detergent. To remove any final residue of burned fibers, pour a capful of liquid detergent onto the scorched area. Brush the fabric with a small brush to rid the area of the charred fibers. Hand wash the fabric in cool water.

4. Rinse well to expose the undamaged threads. If after laundering, the stain is still visible, use fabric bleach to remove any traces of the hot iron. If a burnt smell remains, use a scented linen spray to counter the odor.

Tips & Warnings

• Examine the scorched fabric closely. Heavily scorched linen and cotton materials may require washing with liquid detergent before rubbing the material with a coin.
• Dyed fabric may experience discoloration with excessive washing and treating the scorched fabric with peroxide.
• Even if you remove the burned mark from linens and cotton clothing, the fabric is unlikely to retain its shape or original strength.
• Severely scorched woolens, linens, silks and synthetics cannot be repaired.

References

• Ohio State University: Quick Stain Removal

Resources

• Stain Removal Guide
• Ways to Remove Tough Scorch Stains