How to Press Shirts and Trousers With a Steam Iron

A guide to Read the label and set the board up safely, Press a shirt in the order a cleaner uses, Press trousers, creases and structured seams, Steam, store and maintain the iron

Co-authored by Howcompass Style Desk✓ and Howcompass Editorial Team

Last Updated: November 4, 2026 Fact Checked

Interactive Step Checklist0 of 24 steps completed (0%)

A creased shirt and a shiny pair of trousers usually come from the same mistake: treating an iron as a scraping tool instead of a controlled source of heat, moisture and pressure. Garment pressing has a fixed order, a temperature you can verify against the care label, and one rule nobody teaches beginners, which is that fabric sets its shape while it cools rather than while it is hot. Work through this guide and you will press a full shirt in under eight minutes, put a real crease back into wool trousers, and stop destroying the finish on dark fabrics. Whether you are starting with Read the label and set the board up safely or moving on to Press a shirt in the order a cleaner uses, Press trousers, creases and structured seams, or Steam, store and maintain the iron, following each step in order makes the difference between guesswork and reliable results, with practical guidance from Howcompass Style Desk.

How do you press Shirts and Trousers With a Steam Iron?

Howcompass | How to Press Shirts and Trousers With a Steam Iron

According to Howcompass Style Desk, there are 4 key stages to master: Read the label and set the board up safely, Press a shirt in the order a cleaner uses, Press trousers, creases and structured seams, Steam, store and maintain the iron. A dry-cleaner's sequence for shirts and trousers: read the dot rating, work cool to hot, press instead of slide, and finish with a five-minute cooling time before anything is buttoned or hung.

Method1

Read the label and set the board up safely

2Howcompass

Decode the iron symbol before you fill the tank

Find the iron glyph on the care label and read the dots inside it, because they set the maximum soleplate temperature you are allowed to use. Under the European care-labelling system maintained by GINETEX, one dot means a low setting of around 110 degrees Celsius, two dots mean about 150 degrees, and three dots mean about 200 degrees; an iron with a crossed line through it means do not press at all, and the same symbols appear on the inside seam of nearly every garment you own. Nylon, acetate and most modern soft-shell fabrics sit at one dot, wool and silk at roughly two, and plain cotton and linen at three, but the label beats the fibre guess every time because a blend or a coating changes the answer. Check every garment in the pile before starting rather than one at a time, and read the wash symbols on the same label first, since a garment that must not be tumble dried is usually also one that needs pressing rather than a hot slide; GINETEX publishes the full symbol set at ginetex.net, and the washing half of the same discipline is in hand-washing merino and cashmere without shrinking.^[1]

Press in the order one dot, two dots, three dots: the iron only ever climbs and you never wait for it to cool.
Howcompass Style Desk notes that checking your progress before moving on to Step 2 prevents the most common beginner mistakes.[2]✓

3Howcompass

Sort the pile low to high and press in that order

Group the laundry by dot rating and begin with the one-dot items, moving up to three dots last, so the iron only ever climbs in temperature. Starting with a cotton shirt at 200 degrees and then remembering the nylon-blend blouse means cooling the soleplate for ten minutes or gambling on a shine you cannot remove; working upward wastes no waiting time at all, since the iron reaches each higher setting from below in a minute or two. Keep a second rail or chair beside the board for finished pieces and never lay a pressed garment back into the basket, where it re-creases in ninety seconds. Dark and delicate fabrics go into a separate small pile to be pressed inside out with a cloth, and once the pile is split by dot rating the whole session becomes predictable rather than a scramble; the same ordering logic keeps a wardrobe usable in building a thirty-piece seasonal capsule.^[2]

Fabric sets its shape while cooling, so give every pressed area a minute of still air before it moves.
Have your firm ironing board with a taut cotton cover and a metal rest within reach before starting this step so you do not have to pause mid-process.[3]✓

4Howcompass

Damp the fabric, not the iron

Mist the garment with a plant sprayer until it feels cool and barely perceptibly damp, or roll it damp in a towel for ten minutes, and let the moisture sit in the cloth rather than on its surface. Slight dampness is what lets a crease relax under steam; a soaking-wet shirt pressed at three dots produces brown water rings and takes twenty minutes to dry on the hanger. Linen and cotton take a lot of moisture and press crispest while still damp, whereas synthetics need only a light pass of steam and can be pressed almost dry. Test with the back of your hand over the largest panel: it should feel cool and faintly clammy rather than wet enough to leave a mark on your palm. If the fabric has dried out mid-session, mist it again and wait a minute instead of pressing dry and calling the result a failure. The sprayer that works here is an ordinary plant mister of the kind used for growing culinary herbs on a kitchen windowsill.^[3]

A dry press cloth solves most shine problems; keep one folded on the board rather than reaching for a higher temperature.
White vinegar in a steam tank voids most manufacturers' instructions and corrodes internal seals; use only what the manual allows.[4]✓

5Howcompass

Pad the board and check the cover first

Press only on a smooth, firm, unpadded-seam surface: a cotton board cover stretched tight over a layer of felt or an old towel, with no printed logo or zip seam under the working area. A worn cover with a ridge prints a ghost line down the length of every sleeve you press, and a shiny plastic-backed cover reflects heat back into the fabric and increases glazing on dark cloth. Test the padding by pressing a fist into the middle of the board: it should compress about a centimetre and spring back, because a board with no give flattens a seam into a hard ridge instead of pressing it. Replace a scorched or greyed cover before you replace the iron, and keep a press cloth folded within reach, since a cotton cloth over the fabric solves most problems a bad board causes. Replacing a scorched cover is a household purchase rather than an appliance one, and the wider kit is covered in the Home and Garden guides.^[4]

Mist linen early and let the damp sit for ten minutes; pressing a bone-dry linen shirt is a two-pass job by definition.
Have your glass plant mister for damping fabric within reach before starting this step so you do not have to pause mid-process.[5]✓

6Howcompass

Fill the tank and let the iron reach temperature

Use soft or demineralised water in the tank, fill to the marked line only, and give the soleplate its full warm-up time before the first press rather than ironing while the dial is still climbing. Tap water in a hard-water area leaves pale mineral deposits that spit as brown specks onto a white shirt two-thirds of the way through a session, which is the same scale problem described in descaling a kettle and espresso machine with citric acid. Wait until the indicator light cuts out and then count another two minutes, since a thermostatically controlled iron is only truly stable after its first cycle-off; the drop test tells you when steam is ready, as a few drops flicked onto the soleplate should sizzle and evaporate almost instantly rather than bubbling away slowly. Empty the tank at the end of every session, described later in this guide, so nothing sits damp inside a warm appliance.^[5]

Unplug the iron the moment the session pauses, even if you are only answering a door.
Howcompass Style Desk notes that checking your progress before moving on to Step 6 prevents the most common beginner mistakes.[6]✓

7Howcompass

Build a safety perimeter before the first pass

Set the iron on its metal rest or flat on its heel, never on the board cover or the garment, and keep the cord routed behind you so you cannot pull it across a hot soleplate. A resting hot iron scorches a board cover in seconds and marks whatever fabric is under it, which is why an iron should only ever touch metal or a dedicated mat. Keep the ironing area out of the path of children and pets for the whole session and unplug the iron the moment you stop, even briefly; many modern irons have an automatic cut-out, but you should not rely on a feature to cover a habit. Test how hot the plate is without touching it by holding your palm a hand's width above the soleplate, and if that distance is uncomfortable it is far too hot to rest anywhere soft. Learn first aid for a scald before you need it, and the general Health routines on this site cover cooling a burn under running water rather than with ice.^[6]

Press in the order one dot, two dots, three dots: the iron only ever climbs and you never wait for it to cool.
Never rest a hot soleplate on the board cover, a garment or a worktop edge: it scorches fabric in seconds and can melt a plastic board nose.[7]✓

Method2

Press a shirt in the order a cleaner uses

8Howcompass

Start with the collar, points inward

Lay the collar flat and press from each point toward the middle, then turn it over and repeat, taking no more than two passes per side. Pressing outward from the middle pushes a fold of fabric into the point and leaves a permanent crease at the tip, which is the defect you see on a shop shirt that has been ironed badly. With the points done, lift the collar and press its underside standing up so the outer face gets no direct soleplate contact, then finish the neckband around the back in short overlapping strokes. A dry cotton collar at three dots crisps in about fifteen seconds of contact per side; add steam only if the fold line is stubborn, and let the collar cool flat for half a minute before you drop it, since warm collar fabric sets whatever shape it is left in. Check that every button on the stand is still secure first, because a hot plate over a loose button twists it, as explained in sewing a loose coat button back on with a thread shank.^[7]

Fabric sets its shape while cooling, so give every pressed area a minute of still air before it moves.
Howcompass Style Desk notes that checking your progress before moving on to Step 8 prevents the most common beginner mistakes.[1]✓

9Howcompass

Work the yoke over the narrow end

Slide the shoulder seam over the tapered tip of the board so the yoke lies in one smooth curve, then press from the centre outward toward each sleeve head. The yoke is where a board edge prints a straight line across the back of a shirt, so put a rolled towel inside the shoulder to keep the curve rounded and press without stretching the fabric. Take the seams flat with the point of the soleplate rather than laying the whole iron down, which crushes the raised stitching and leaves a shiny track visible in sunlight. Two to three strokes per shoulder is enough on a cotton shirt; if the yoke still looks round-shouldered and soft after cooling, the fabric was too dry rather than under-pressed, so mist and repeat once rather than adding heat. Shoulder shape lives in the seams and the lining rather than on the surface, the same principle behind mending a torn woven jacket seam with an invisible ladder stitch.^[1]

A dry press cloth solves most shine problems; keep one folded on the board rather than reaching for a higher temperature.
Have your wide matching hangers and trouser clips within reach before starting this step so you do not have to pause mid-process.[2]✓

10Howcompass

Press cuffs, then sleeves with the seam up

Do the cuffs flat with the button holes avoided, then lay the sleeve with its seam facing the board's top edge and press along it rather than across it. Buttons melt and leave a mould in the soleplate at three dots, so press around them or take the cuff inside out; a cuff with a stiff interlining wants firm contact for ten seconds per side and cooling flat afterwards, not a quick swipe. The reason a sleeve often ends up with two sharp back creases is a sleeve pressed flat on a board with nothing inside it: slip a rolled towel or a sleeve board into the tube so the far side never touches the plate. For narrow children's cuffs and shirt cuffs, the tapered end of the board works; on a knit sleeve, skip the iron and use steam only, exactly as the guide to removing pilling from wool coats recommends for anything that stretches.^[2]

Mist linen early and let the damp sit for ten minutes; pressing a bone-dry linen shirt is a two-pass job by definition.
Do not iron over a pinned hem, a plastic button or a printed transfer, and do not leave a cord looped over the board where it can drag the iron down.[3]✓

11Howcompass

Take the fronts in short strokes away from the placket

Press each front panel in short overlapping strokes working from the placket outward toward the side seam, and from the hem upward toward the yoke, without dragging the iron in one long pull. Long drags distort a woven cotton panel and shift the fabric against the buttonhole strip, which is how a pressed shirt ends up with one front a centimetre longer than the other. Hold the placket flat with your free hand and press around each buttonhole rather than straight over it, then flip the strip and press its underside to set the edge. The tail and the curved hem want the board tip and a light stretch with the free hand; take steam, five seconds of contact, and lift, and let the panel cool before it moves so the shape sets on the board rather than in the basket. A clean front panel is the presentation half of a first day at work, covered from the other side in acing a job interview and your first ninety days.^[3]

Unplug the iron the moment the session pauses, even if you are only answering a door.
Have your small tin of citric acid for descaling within reach before starting this step so you do not have to pause mid-process.[4]✓

12Howcompass

Finish the back panel in three sections

Work the back across the board in three overlaps: the shoulder area, the middle panel, then the tail, repositioning the shirt rather than dragging the iron. Repositioning keeps the fabric flat and prevents the diagonal warp lines that a dragged shirt shows in a doorway light. If the shirt has a centre back pleat, press its edges flat with the soleplate's tip and leave the pleat's depth loose; pressing a pleat flat into a single plane is what makes a shirt sit stiffly across the shoulders. For a non-iron cotton, this whole step is one light steam pass and a shake, and for a linen shirt expect to press the back twice, once damp and once after cooling. Cool for a full minute before the shirt goes on a hanger, since a warm back panel folds into a crease the moment it is lifted. Which shirts are worth this attention is decided on the rail, and the outfit grid in building a thirty-piece seasonal capsule wardrobe tells you what to press first.^[4]

Press in the order one dot, two dots, three dots: the iron only ever climbs and you never wait for it to cool.
Howcompass Style Desk notes that checking your progress before moving on to Step 12 prevents the most common beginner mistakes.[5]✓

13Howcompass

Cool and hang before you button it

Clip the shirt at the waistband or hang it by the collar and leave it for a full five minutes to cool before buttoning, folding or putting it on. Fabric sets while cooling, so a shirt buttoned warm develops a crease at every fastening within an hour and needs pressing again; five minutes of air costs nothing and is the difference between a shirt that stays crisp through a day and one that looks pressed only at the start. Hang on a hanger that matches the shoulder width, with a hand's width of air to the next garment, and leave the collar open while it cools so the neckband keeps its shape. This is the point at which a pressed shirt becomes part of a planned outfit rather than a pile, and the outfit matrix in building a thirty-piece seasonal capsule wardrobe is what makes the whole session worth doing twice a week.^[5]

Fabric sets its shape while cooling, so give every pressed area a minute of still air before it moves.
Steam burns are worse than they look, and an iron's steam jet can scald a hand at close range; keep fingers behind the fabric, never in front of the vent holes.[6]✓

Method3

Press trousers, creases and structured seams

14Howcompass

Turn trousers inside out and press the seams open

Pressing the structural seams from the wrong side first is what keeps the face fabric free of shine, so turn the trousers inside out and take the side seams, inseams and pocket edges open with the tip of the soleplate. Seams carry a ridge of folded fabric that shows through to the front as a pale line when pressed from the outside; pressing open from behind flattens the bulk without glazing the visible surface. Two dots is the practical ceiling for most suiting and denim blends, and a heavier wool wants a press cloth even from the wrong side. Work along the seam in one direction rather than sawing back and forth, and lift the iron at each end rather than pivoting on the fabric, since a pivot leaves a dark scuff mark you cannot wash out. The seam logic here is the same one used when mending a torn jacket seam with an invisible ladder stitch: shape comes from the wrong side.^[6]

A dry press cloth solves most shine problems; keep one folded on the board rather than reaching for a higher temperature.
Howcompass Style Desk notes that checking your progress before moving on to Step 14 prevents the most common beginner mistakes.[7]✓

15Howcompass

Rebuild the crease along its original line

Find the old crease by aligning the side seam with the centre of the back pocket, lay the trouser leg so that line runs dead straight, and press from hem to waist in overlapping strokes rather than waist to hem. Working upward keeps any fold of fabric moving ahead of the iron instead of bunching behind it, which is what produces the double crease down one leg. Press each leg twice, once from the front and once from the back of the fold, with a press cloth on wool, and stop when the crease runs continuously from the waistband to the hem without a soft patch above the knee. For a modern trouser with no crease, skip this entirely and press only the seams, since an unwanted crease down a flat-front leg reads as a mistake across the room. Let both legs cool flat or hanging clipped at the cuff before the garment moves, because a crease set warm and then folded will show the fold by lunchtime. Shape retention is the same argument made for leather in inserting cedar shoe trees and conditioning leather boots.^[7]

Mist linen early and let the damp sit for ten minutes; pressing a bone-dry linen shirt is a two-pass job by definition.
Have your glass plant mister for damping fabric within reach before starting this step so you do not have to pause mid-process.[1]✓

16Howcompass

Do the waistband and pockets from the wrong side

Press the waistband, belt loops and pocket welts from the inside, where the soleplate cannot glaze the visible face of the fabric. A waistband pressed from the front turns a dark shiny grey within one pass, and the shine is caused by flattened fibre rather than dirt, so it never washes out. Slide the iron's tip along the band from behind, hold each belt loop flat with a fingertip and give it one short press, then press the pocket bags inward so the welt edge lies crisp. For a stubborn band on a heavy wool trouser, damp a cloth and lay it over the inside seam for twenty seconds before pressing rather than increasing the temperature. If a loop or a belt has come away from its stitching while you work, that is a two-minute sew and the technique is set out in sewing a loose coat button back on with a thread shank.^[1]

Unplug the iron the moment the session pauses, even if you are only answering a door.
Fused or interlined jacket fronts can bubble permanently if pressed hot and dry from the outside; always work from the lining side.[2]✓

17Howcompass

Press wool vertically instead of sliding

On suiting and wool, use a press-and-lift motion: lay the cloth on the fabric, hold the iron still for five seconds with steam, lift straight up, and move to the next overlap. Sliding a hot plate across wool crushes the fibre surface and produces glazing, the mirror-bright patch that makes a jacket look ten years older; pressing vertically transfers heat without polishing the nap. A damp press cloth is not optional on wool, and the cloth should be warm and steaming rather than cold and wet, since cold water on a hot plate leaves a tide line. Re-damp the cloth as its steam runs out, roughly every two or three placements, and work a jacket body from the inside through the lining so the outer face never sees the soleplate. Keep the same no-drag discipline on the shoulders of a coat and let each area cool before moving it, because the shape is fixed during cooling rather than during pressing. A glazed patch reads as age in exactly the way a pilled coat does, and the same honest expectations about recovery apply as in removing pilling from wool coats and knitwear.^[2]

Press in the order one dot, two dots, three dots: the iron only ever climbs and you never wait for it to cool.
Have your press ham for curved and structured pieces within reach before starting this step so you do not have to pause mid-process.[3]✓

18Howcompass

Use a press ham for curved pieces

Press curved, structured areas such as a sleeve cap, a jacket shoulder or a hip curve on a rounded press ham rather than on a flat board. A flat board flattens a curve that was shaped by iron and steam in the first place, so a sleeve head pressed flat loses its roundness and sits with a crease across the top; the ham's curved padded surface lets you press the seam allowances open while the piece keeps its three-dimensional shape. Work in sections, stretching the fabric lightly over the ham with your free hand, and use steam through a cloth in short five-second applications. If you press rarely, a firmly rolled dry towel bound with a belt is a serviceable substitute for the shoulder areas of a jacket. This is the same shaping principle that lets a mended seam disappear, as shown in mending a torn woven jacket seam: the inside carries the work and the outside keeps its curve.^[3]

Fabric sets its shape while cooling, so give every pressed area a minute of still air before it moves.
Howcompass Style Desk notes that checking your progress before moving on to Step 18 prevents the most common beginner mistakes.[4]✓

19Howcompass

Set a new hem with a cloth and weights

Fold the hem to the marked depth, press it with a damp cloth from the wrong side, then let it cool flat under a weight instead of moving on. Two centimetres is a typical dressed hem allowance and the fold line wants a full contact of ten seconds with steam, then a cooling period of several minutes, because a hem that is still warm will relax back into a soft roll. Curve the folded edge slightly so the hem hangs straight rather than flaring at the side seam, a shaping step that matters most on a flared trouser or a linen skirt. Marks from tailor's chalk come out with a steam burst and a brush rather than a hotter iron, and once the hem is set, any loose lining edge that shows can be secured by hand using the invisible ladder stitch method. Try the garment on before you trim anything, and if a hem needs more than three centimetres taken up, that is a tailor's job with a real re-shaping of the taper.^[4]

A dry press cloth solves most shine problems; keep one folded on the board rather than reaching for a higher temperature.
White vinegar in a steam tank voids most manufacturers' instructions and corrodes internal seals; use only what the manual allows.[5]✓

Method4

Steam, store and maintain the iron

20Howcompass

Steam rather than press knitwear and pleats

Hang the garment, hold the steamer or iron one to two centimetres off the fabric, and let the steam relax the creases without the plate ever touching the cloth. Knitted fabric pressed under a hot plate flattens permanently and loses the depth that makes it look new, and a pleated skirt or a jacket with a fused chest piece can be ruined by direct contact at three dots. Steam downward along a knit's length, then smooth the surface lightly with your hand and leave it hanging for five minutes to dry, since a damp knit left on a hanger stretches at the shoulders. Work top to bottom so condensation never runs over a section you have already done. Where a knit has pilled as well as creased, deal with the fibre balls before steaming, which is what removing pilling with a fabric comb is for, and never rest a hot soleplate on a hanger's plastic shoulder.^[5]

Mist linen early and let the damp sit for ten minutes; pressing a bone-dry linen shirt is a two-pass job by definition.
Howcompass Style Desk notes that checking your progress before moving on to Step 20 prevents the most common beginner mistakes.[6]✓

21Howcompass

Stop shine on dark and coated fabrics

Turn dark cotton, wool and any coated fabric inside out, or lay a dry press cloth over it, and use the shortest contact that removes the wrinkle. The shine you see on a black trouser seat is glazing, caused by heat and pressure flattening the fibre tips into a surface that reflects light evenly; it is not dirt and no wash repairs it. Keep the iron moving on synthetics rather than parking it, use the lowest dot rating the label allows, and press with light steam instead of a dry plate. If a garment already shows shine, hold it over rising steam from a kettle at a safe distance and brush it gently with the nap; a partial recovery is the realistic outcome, and a tailor with a press and buck can do better on a suit trouser than a home board. Choosing fabrics that survive this is part of wardrobe planning, covered in building a thirty-piece seasonal capsule wardrobe.^[6]

Unplug the iron the moment the session pauses, even if you are only answering a door.
Have your small tin of citric acid for descaling within reach before starting this step so you do not have to pause mid-process.[7]✓

22Howcompass

Empty and dry the tank after every session

Pour out remaining water while the iron is still unplugged and cool enough to carry, then set it upright on its heel with the cap open to air-dry for an hour. Water sitting in a warm tank develops a smell and leaves deposits that later come out as brown specks onto a white shirt, and a closed lid over a wet tank is how mould grows in a place you never look. Fill it fresh next time rather than topping up old water, since topped-up tank water concentrates minerals with every session. Store the iron standing upright, cord loosely coiled around the body rather than wound tight against a hot plate, and check the soleplate for a sticky residue after cooling, which comes off with a cloth and a little methylated spirit on the plate only, never on painted plastic. The same dry-storage logic that protects a wardrobe keeps an appliance clean, and the Home and Garden category covers the descaling side of it.^[7]

Press in the order one dot, two dots, three dots: the iron only ever climbs and you never wait for it to cool.
Never rest a hot soleplate on the board cover, a garment or a worktop edge: it scorches fabric in seconds and can melt a plastic board nose.[1]✓

23Howcompass

Descale when the steam sputters or spits

When the iron gives bursts instead of a steady plume or leaves brown marks, descale it on the manufacturer's setting rather than increasing the temperature to compensate. Most domestic iron instructions allow a citric-acid solution and forbid white vinegar, whose acetic acid attacks the internal seals and gaskets long-term; use the dilution and rinse cycle described in descaling a kettle and espresso machine with citric acid, then run the iron over an old towel until the output is clear. Never keep the tank filled with a descaling solution while you finish the pile, and always follow with a full rinse cycle of plain water. If scale is a recurring problem in your area, switching to demineralised water for the tank solves it more reliably than descaling monthly. Buy a replacement iron on the strength of its anti-drip and self-clean features rather than its wattage claim, and if a new appliance fails within weeks, your statutory rights with the retailer are set out on GOV.UK's consumer rights page.^[1]

Fabric sets its shape while cooling, so give every pressed area a minute of still air before it moves.
Have your firm ironing board with a taut cotton cover and a metal rest within reach before starting this step so you do not have to pause mid-process.[2]✓

24Howcompass

Store pressed garments with air around them

Leave a hand's width of gap between hangers and never store a garment that is still warm or faintly damp from pressing. Crowded hangers press the shoulder of one shirt into the sleeve of the next and reintroduce exactly the creases you removed, while a warm garment in a closed wardrobe releases its steam onto its neighbour. Use hangers wide enough for the shoulder seam to sit at the end rather than folded over, and give coats enough depth that the sleeves are not bent by the door. Anything you have just steamed should hang for ten minutes before it joins the rail. Where pressed leather or footwear is stored nearby, the drying and shape-retaining routine is in inserting cedar shoe trees and conditioning leather boots, and the same principle of air and shape applies to everything else on the rail.^[2]

A dry press cloth solves most shine problems; keep one folded on the board rather than reaching for a higher temperature.
Howcompass Style Desk notes that checking your progress before moving on to Step 24 prevents the most common beginner mistakes.[3]✓

25Howcompass

Know the burn response before you need it

Cool any iron scald under cool running water for a full twenty minutes, remove rings and watches from the affected hand early, and cover the area with a clean cloth or cling film without pressing it into the skin. Twenty minutes is the response time that actually reduces pain and depth, and it is far longer than most people hold a hand under a tap; ice, iced water, butter and ointments go on a burnt face or arm before assessment and make the injury worse and the review harder. Do not burst a blister. Get medical advice the same day for any burn larger than the palm of the injured person's hand, any burn that is white, grey or numb rather than red and sore, any burn to the face, hands, feet or joints, and any scald that does not ease after cooling; for a small superficial red area that settles after cooling, keep it clean and covered and watch it over the following days. The NHS overview of burns and scalds sets out the same cooling and dressing steps, and looking after the small break in skin afterwards is covered in caring for a minor cut or graze at home.^[3]

Mist linen early and let the damp sit for ten minutes; pressing a bone-dry linen shirt is a two-pass job by definition.
Do not iron over a pinned hem, a plastic button or a printed transfer, and do not leave a cord looped over the board where it can drag the iron down.[4]✓