This has probably been done before, but search is pulling up nothing.
Why do my clothes briefly turn darker when I iron them? I notice this happens to my cotton shirts, and I assume it has something to do with the steam and the fabric. Does the steam essentially ‘wet’ my shirt enough to turn it darker?
Yup.
I’ve heard that some dyes are also heat sensitive.
Grandma ironed white shirts, starched and plain with an old cast iron “iron” as long as I can remember up till she was no longer able. Never saw a white shirt with any discoloration but once when she was distracted and it scorched a patter of the iron on the shirt!
Reduce the temp. OR reduce the time spent on one spot. Keep the iron moving.
Well, it’s a temporary thing, not a permanent discoloration. It’s not a matter of keeping the iron moving; any touch of the heat (or steam) turns the colour darker.
Thanks for the answers!
I recently had this happen when I was ironing on some labels (sending a kid to camp). The instructions said to let the iron sit still long enough to melt the adhesive - not using steam.
On several of the articles, when I pulled the iron away the color was darker; I thought I’d have a permanent iron-shaped mark. But as the material cooled it returned to normal.
So it may just be the dye, not the water.
Nope.
All my pants and shirts that I iron are either cotton or linen, and only two of the linen ones do this. It isn’t the steam because the same thing happens if I turn the steam off. Something about the heat darkens the material and it stays dark until it cools off. I do not know if it is the dye, or the fiber.
No other garment that I iron darkens when the iron hits it. So I don’t have an answer but hopefully I have refined the question.