Ironing without shine marks: the temperature table by fabric

That shine on your black trousers is not a stain and it will not wash out. It is the fibre flattened, reflecting the light where it used to absorb it.

And it is almost always the same cause: too much heat for that fabric.

Why shine marks appear

The surface of a fabric is not smooth. It is made up of thousands of fibres pointing in different directions, and that irregularity is what scatters the light and gives the fabric its matt look.

When you apply an iron that is too hot, especially with pressure, those fibres get flattened and lined up. A flat surface reflects the light instead of scattering it, and that is what you see as shine.

With synthetic fibres there is one more step. Polyester and nylon soften with heat, so they do not just get flattened: they melt slightly and stay that way permanently.

That is why the problem shows up mostly on dark clothes and on synthetics. On a white cotton shirt the shine is there too, but you cannot see it.

The dots on the iron symbol

On the care label, the drawing of the iron has dots inside it. Each dot is a temperature limit.

Symbol	Maximum temperature	What for
One dot	110 °C	Silk, nylon, acetate, acrylic
Two dots	150 °C	Wool, polyester, blends
Three dots	200 °C	Cotton, linen
Crossed-out iron	Do not iron

If the label has no dots, only the drawing, check the fibre composition and use the table below.

Temperature table by fabric

Fabric	Temperature	Steam	Notes
Acrylic	110 °C	No	Always inside out
Nylon	110 °C	No	Inside out, keep the iron moving
Acetate	110 °C	No	Inside out and with a pressing cloth
Silk	110 °C	No	Never steam: it stains. Inside out
Polyester	150 °C	A little	Slightly damp works better than steam
Wool	150 °C	Yes	Inside out and with a pressing cloth in between
Viscose	150 °C	A little	Inside out
Blends	150 °C	Yes	The most delicate fibre always decides
Cotton	200 °C	Yes	Takes plenty of steam
Linen	Up to 230 °C	Yes	The one that asks for the most heat and the most steam
Denim	200 °C	Yes	Inside out so the colour does not wear out

Golden rule for blends: the most delicate fibre decides. A cotton shirt with twenty per cent polyester is ironed at polyester temperature, not cotton.

The ones you never iron directly

Four fabrics that always need to be ironed inside out or with a cotton cloth between the iron and the garment.

Wool. Ironed directly it mats down and shine marks appear straight away.

Silk. Inside out and without steam. A drop of water on silk leaves a ring.

Velvet and corduroy. You do not press them: steam them vertically or iron them inside out over a towel, so you do not crush the pile.

Garments with prints, vinyl or sequins. A direct iron melts them. Always inside out.

The protective soleplate: what it actually solves

The protective soleplate is a non-stick plate that clips onto the base of the iron and acts as a barrier between the hot metal and the garment.

It solves three specific things:

It gets rid of shine marks. The non-stick surface does not flatten or melt the fibre the way metal does, so you can iron wool or synthetics directly, with no cloth and no worries.

It lets you use a higher temperature without damage. That is the practical advantage: you iron faster because you are not turning the temperature down and up again garment by garment.

It stops residue sticking. Prints, vinyl and synthetic fibres do not stay stuck to the base, so you do not end up with a dirty iron.

If you iron a lot of dark fabric or a lot of wool, it is one of those things that changes the job. If you iron two cotton shirts a month, you do not need it.

And if the problem is that you have nowhere to iron, the foldable wall ironing board hangs on the door and folds away, and the 2-in-1 ironing board in beech wood works vertically on the door or horizontally on the table.

The right ironing order

An iron takes much longer to cool down than to heat up. That is why it pays to go from low to high.

1. Silk, acetate and delicate synthetics, at 110 °C
2. Wool, polyester and viscose, at 150
3. Cotton, at 200
4. Linen last, because it asks for the most

If you go the other way round, every time you turn the temperature down you will have to wait several minutes, or risk scorching the next garment.

Steam: when yes and when no

Yes: cotton, linen, denim, wool with a cloth in between. These are fibres that need moisture so the heat can relax the creases.

No: silk, acetate, nylon and acrylic. On silk, water leaves a ring. On synthetics, steam adds nothing because the crease comes out with gentle heat, not with moisture.

Trick for very creased cotton: instead of pushing more steam at it, spray water over the garment, leave it for a minute and then iron. Moisture spread evenly works better than a concentrated burst of steam.

Frequently asked questions

What temperature should each fabric be ironed at? Silk and delicate synthetics at 110 °C, wool and polyester at 150, cotton at 200 and linen up to 230. With blends, the most delicate fibre always decides.

What do the dots on the iron symbol mean? One dot is 110 °C maximum, two dots 150 and three dots 200. A crossed-out iron means the garment must not be ironed.

Why do black clothes go shiny when you iron them? Because too much heat flattens the fibres and lines them up, and a smooth surface reflects the light instead of scattering it. On synthetics they also melt slightly and the damage is permanent.

Can shine marks be removed from a garment? On natural fibres they can sometimes be softened by brushing the area damp with a soft brush and then ironing inside out with a cloth. On synthetics, once the fibre has melted, there is no fix.

What is an iron protective soleplate for? It acts as a non-stick barrier between the hot base and the garment. It prevents shine marks, lets you iron at a higher temperature without damaging the fabric and stops prints and synthetic fibres sticking to the iron.

In what order should you iron? From the lowest temperature to the highest, because an iron cools down much more slowly than it heats up. Delicates first, linen last.