How to Remove Heat Transfer Vinyl Mistakes

So...you made an ooops and now you want to remove heat transfer vinyl from a shirt or other fabric. While it's not meant to be removed, there is a way to remove HTV if necessary.

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There are several ways to remove heat transfer vinyl mistakes, but in this tutorial I'm going to share the trick using something you might already have around the house!

How to Remove HTV Mistakes

The secret is Goo Gone.

I'm using an old onesie and a scrap piece of HTV to demonstrate this...so here's what my onesie looked like before my HTV mistake.

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And there's my oops...

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So what you want to try to do, if possible, is to remove the HTV as soon as you realize your mistake. First you want to re-heat the heat transfer vinyl with your iron. Set the iron right on the vinyl to warm it up.

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If you can start picking from a corner to lift it up and peel it that's great...but most likely it's not going to budge because HTV is meant to stay put. Now this is there the Goo Gone comes in. Spray the Goo Gone directly onto the HTV from both the front and from the inside of the garment.

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Let it sit on there for a minute or so and again start trying to peel up the HTV from the corner.

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Most likely you'll only get small pieces off at a time. If you need more Goo Gone and more heat, go for it. I like to spray the Goo Gone and then iron the area for a few seconds before working on removing the HTV for a few minutes and then repeating.

After you've successfully removed the HTV mistake (YAY!), I suggest washing and drying the shirt before reapplying heat transfer vinyl.

If you're looking for a few other ways to remove Heat Transfer Vinyl mistakes, check out a couple of other methods for removing HTV!

Removing HTV Mistakes with an Iron

Heat Transfer Vinyl Remover and the Trick to Removing the HTV and Adhesive

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15 comments

Lisa { Mom Wife Design Life Blog}March 1, 2016 at 2:13 PM
Thanks for the tip! I had an (oops) and this helped!
UnknownMay 29, 2016 at 5:37 PM
Does the good gone smell stay in clothes? Will HTV stick back to the shirt?
POPdRIVEJune 2, 2016 at 10:26 PM
Hi, can we use this Goo Gone on flocked vinyl?
AnonymousJune 6, 2016 at 8:36 PM
I tired this today and eventually got my mistakes off the shirt, but I can see where the lettering was on the shirt plus the Goo Gone left stains on the shirt. Is there anything that I can do to remedy these?
TabithaJune 18, 2016 at 7:42 PM
I've had success using a hair dryer and steamer. Worked like a charm!
AnonymousJuly 13, 2016 at 1:07 PM
We tried your method using Goo Gone and unfortunately, it does NOT work. Do not recommend using this method. You WILL ruin your shirt. Very disappointed in having to throw away the shirt using this method. Goo Gone left an oily stain where we applied the Goo Gone and it will not come out. Very poor advice!
SarahJuly 13, 2016 at 2:53 PM
Here's what works & amazingly!
1. Goof Off
2. Spray back & front of oopsie area
3. Your iron on its honest setting
4. Make sure your iron is on its steam setting.
5. Cover any areas you do not want to be effected by removal.
6. Let Goof Off work some magic for about 5 minutes.
7. Place your iron about a half inch (1/2") above the area you want to remove & steam for about 10 seconds. Do not touch the design.
8. Start peeling & quickly. Vinyl will come right off.
9. Repeat with steam until all you want removed, it removed & wahla!
ValarieAugust 31, 2016 at 10:59 PM
I used Goo Gone and my iron this way tonight and I WAS able to successfully remove the vinyl. To ensure there was no oily stain left behind, I rubbed Wisk liquid detergent into the Goo Gone. It's what I always use to reliably take care of oily stains. I'm confident that with the Goo Gone washed out, I'll be able to redo the vinyl in the area I messed up. (There was a fold I didn't notice before adhering my vinyl and heat pressing it. Just about ruined my day. Day saved now.)
TenSGalOctober 16, 2016 at 6:19 PM
I had a little sliver of glitter vinyl and used Goof Off. It came off easily. No stain. Just re-washing the shirt now.
UnknownOctober 28, 2016 at 5:57 PM
when using the goo gone does it remove the sticky an can you see where the old design was? i misspelled a word an the new word isnt going to cover the old an i can see where the letter was from the glue
PrintworksNBFebruary 22, 2017 at 12:01 PM
Great post - worked like a charm!

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