Clothing Irons
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Kitchen Cooking Appliances · CPSC Code 277
Down 47% over 5 years
The verdict
Clothing Irons carry a danger score of 34/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 6,578 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 47% over the last five years.
- 34/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 6,578
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 4.9%
- end in hospital admission
- 0-4
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 277 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 34/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for clothing irons - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume6,578 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)4.9%
- Fatality rate0.02%
- 5-year trend-47%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Clothing Irons (CPSC product code 277, in the Kitchen Cooking Appliances category) generate an estimated 6,578 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 131,552 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 34/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are declining by about 47% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2006 (11,424 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2020 (2,256 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for clothing irons is burns, thermal to the hand, accounting for approximately 35,388 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by burns, thermal to the lower arm (14,016 cases). The 0-4 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 66,227 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 4.9% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer, and a small fraction (0.02%) result in fatality.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 171 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how clothing irons fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 40,459 | 25,768 | |
| 5-14 | 7,865 | 8,327 | |
| 15-24 | 3,736 | 5,738 | |
| 25-34 | 1,956 | 5,927 | |
| 35-44 | 2,100 | 7,176 | |
| 45-54 | 2,039 | 4,735 | |
| 55-64 | 1,042 | 4,062 | |
| 65-74 | 746 | 3,157 | |
| 75+ | 574 | 6,117 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Hand | Burns, Thermal | |
| Lower Arm | Burns, Thermal | |
| Lower Leg | Burns, Thermal | |
| Face | Burns, Thermal | |
| Finger | Burns, Thermal | |
| Upper Leg | Burns, Thermal | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Foot | Burns, Thermal | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Foot | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Upper Trunk | Burns, Thermal | |
| Lower Trunk | Burns, Thermal | |
| Upper Arm | Burns, Thermal | |
| Head | Contusions, Abr. |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
4YOF WITH DSS WORKER AFTER SCHOOL CALLED ABOUT A BURN TO THE LEFT FOREARM THAT OCCURRED ON SUNDAY. BURN TO LEFT ARM FROM AN IRON. DX: BURN OF LEFT ARM
34 YOM REPORTS THAT HE POSSIBLY PULLED SOMETHING IN HIS BACK YESTERDAY WHILE IRONING CLOTHES. DX: LUMBAR PAIN WITH RADIATION DOWN LEFT LEG.
43 YOF BILAT HAND PAIN IRONING CLOTHES DX; CARPEL TUNNEL
31 YOM WAS BURNED TO FINGER WITH AN IRON LAST SUNDAY. DX: BURN
82 YOF SAY HER HUSBAND FELL BACKWARDS INTO HER, PUSHING HER FORWARD INTO AN IRONING BOARD WHERE HER ARM CAME IN CONTACT WITH A HOT IRON CAUSING BURNS AND SKIN TEARS. DX: FIRST DEGREE BURNS OF RIGHT FOREARM, LEFT FOREARM SKIN TEARS
77 YOF BIBA FOLLOWING TRIP AND FALL AT HOME WHEN SHE TRIPPED OVER CORD WHILE IRONING, DX: LEFT SHOULDER FRACTURE
2YOF TRIPPED OVER THE CORD OF AN IRON THAT WAS SITTING ON AN IRONING BOARD AND THE IRON FELL ONTO HEAD DX: LACERATION SCALP
19MOF, ACCIDENTALLY BRUSHED HER RIGHT LEG AGAINST HOT IRON ON THE FLOOR DX: SUPERFICIAL BURN OF RIGHT LOWER EXTREMITY
16MOF PRESENTS WITH BURN TO FINGER FROM CLOTHING IRON. DX: PARTIAL THICKNESS BURN OF MULTIPLE DIGITS OF HAND
56YOF WAS AT HOME AND HEAVY CLOTHING IRON FELL HITTING HER IN THE HEAD. DX CONCUSSION
66YOF PRESENTS AFTER SHE WAS IRONING CURTAINS AND DEVELOPED SEVERE PAIN ON HER LEFT LOWER BACK PERIOD DX: SCIATICA OF LEFT SIDE, LEFT-SIDED LOW BACK PAIN WITH SCIATICA
58YOF PRESENTS AFTER A MECHANICAL FALL AND COMPLAINS OF HITTING HER BODY ON THE CHAIR WHEN SHE TRIPPED OVER THE IRON CORD. DX: CONTUSION OF RIB
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
Have a Sunbeam GCSBCS-212 iron, it was plugged in but off for several weeks before the incident. I was really lucky to be in the room at the time, it started beeping all of a sudden, I look over and see a small flame at the bottom near handle and smoke started coming out of the handle area, I quickly unplugged it.
-What happened: At about 7:45 AM I was preparing to iron a shirt and get ready to leave for work. I stood the iron (Rowenta DW2459 steam iron) on the ironing board and plugged in it to warm it up. Approximately 2 minutes after plugging in the iron, it started smoking with a toxic burning plastic smelling smoke. The smoke immediately filled the closet where I was about to iron. I unplugged the iron and I ran to remove my 4 year old child from the bedroom that was also beginning to fill with smoke, and came back to get the iron and take it outside. It took me only about 10 seconds to return to the room and by that time the iron ignited in flames. I grabbed it by the handle, and ran outside to my back patio and set the iron down vertically. I used a water hose and sprayer to put out the fire. I used my cell phone to capture a few seconds of video while I was putting out the fire and then left the iron there to go tell my wife what happened. She was in a upstairs room with our child, she came into the the closet area with me and we saw that the ironing board was still smoldering and smoking. At that time I noticed that there was a puddle of molten metal about 3 to 4 inches in diameter, sitting on the ironing board and smoking. There were also a few drips of the metal on the floor. We used a water spray bottle to extinguish and cool the metal. I also to a few seconds of video of this and a couple of pictures. We left the room as we were having to hold our breath. I closed the bedroom door to contain the smoke. I returned with a garage fan and set it up in the bedroom window to exhausted the smoke. I also opened a smaller window near the closet to allow cross ventilation. Later, I collected the cooled pieces of metal that spilled from inside the iron. I have also saved the iron. -Type of product(s) were being used: Rowenta Steam Iron for cloths. Model: Rowenta DW2459 Access Steam Iron. Purchased 03/13/2020 -How were the product(s) being used?: This is a clothing
We bouhgt a Rowenta Iron about 4 years ago. 2 years ago we called them because the cord had worn and sparks were coming from it. They told us not to use the iron until we replaced the cord. Now 2 years later the cord is making sparks. We called Rowenta again. THey sais that they didn't have any other complaints about this. I know there was at least one complaint because we complained 2 years ago. The covering of the cord is getting worn where it is attached to the iron - in fact it has a small hole in it.
The cord to my Oliso TG 1600 SmartIron got stuck between the top of soleplate and the bottom of the plastic iron body bed when ironing. Note this iron is designed differently from different irons and I did not iron over the cord. I unplugged the iron, but when freeing the cord from the hot iron, it required pulling hard on the cord to free it before it melted. During this process, the cord split open and I can now see copper wire. This is a design flaw. The cord should be large enough not to get stuck between the top of the soleplate and the plastic of the plastic bottom of the iron's body. I have reported this to Oliso.
The consumer says he was ironing his shirt. He heard a loud "pop" sound. He says the chord was sparking. The consumer said that flames were coming out of the back of the iron. The consumer says the iron was on for about a few minutes. He says the electricity was out in the particular room after the incident. He cut the breaker back on in the room. The product is similar to release 02-552. The model number is off by one digit.
Flame and smoke came through cord while iron was being used. Was no apparent defect in cord. Fortunately, was no damage or injury
While ironing the iron began to spark and smoke and began to ignite, myy wife imediately pulled the plug. After pulling the rear cover off I found that the Main power wiring was burnt through and shorted to ground. My wife called Rowenta to inform them that this product has the potential to catch fire. Rowenta representative said that she would email a shipping label and they would like the unit sent to them for evaluation. When asked if it was going to be replaced they said no. We will not ship the iron back to them as I feel they are trying to cover up a safety fault that is potentially dangerous. I feel these units shoulld be recalled. I did notice on reviews that many people have had issues with the Rowenta irons short circuiting. Had my wife left the iron unattended on the ironing board even for a short period of time there would have been a fire. I have photos of the burnt wiring.
Often, when I or my students or family use the mini iron, a finger or hand comes in contact with the shaft which is exceedingly hot. This morning when I burned myself, it blistered.
Showing 8 of 171 reports.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to clothing irons on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are clothing irons?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, clothing irons have a danger score of 34/100 (low risk). An estimated 6,578 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from clothing irons?
The most common injury is burns, thermal to the hand, accounting for approximately 35,388 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from clothing irons increasing or decreasing?
Down 47% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for clothing irons injuries?
The 0-4 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 66,227 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by clothing irons?
Of all ER visits involving clothing irons, approximately 4.9% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (95.1%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with clothing irons?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Kitchen Cooking Appliances
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 34/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 0-4 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
