Whats the best way to remove an iron on?

May 20, 2006 10:15 PM

What is the best way to remove an iron on from a tee?

I am a big fan of doing inkjet iron ons for my (almost) 3 year old daughter, but sometimes the designs just dont come out right. Any suggestions/advice on removing the iron on?

posted by ShawnString to clothing, beauty, & fashion (4 comments total)

I lost one of my favourite iron-ons when i accidentally put it through a hot cycle of my washing machine. Possibly the oxy cleaning stuff didnt help. It went from being basically perfect to almost totally gone in one wash. So maybe give a hot cycle a try or probably even just boiling water.
posted by lrobertjones at 1:43 AM on May 21, 2006

I doubt that you'll be able to entirely remove the image. At best, there will probably always be a ghost image remaining due to inks impregnating the fabric. If it's a white shirt, you might want to try giving it a good, old-fashioned bleaching, though.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:54 AM on May 21, 2006

I've removed small iron-ons with very hot water and scrubbing. The abrasion from the scrubbing was still visible, though.

When I first read this post, I thought it was some sort of bizarre golf question. Silly me.
posted by Daddio at 10:16 AM on May 21, 2006

What Thorzdad said.

Something like acetone, rubbing alcohol, lacquer thinner, or Goof-Off might remove the colored inks (test a little with a Q-Tip), but the iron-on transfer's fusible backing is melted into and around the threads of the fabric itself.

As this sewing tip explains, you might try laying a scrap of clean cotton over the shirt and re-ironing it, but much (if not most) of the fused adhesive will probably remain on the shirt.

Buying a new shirt would be faster, cheaper, and easier, yes?
posted by cenoxo at 11:35 AM on May 21, 2006