diff --git a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/Utility.scala b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/Utility.scala
index f7290ed1b..cf18a01c9 100755
--- a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/Utility.scala
+++ b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/Utility.scala
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ object Utility extends AnyRef with parsing.TokenTests {
     text.iterator.foldLeft(s) { (s, c) =>
       escMap.get(c) match {
         case Some(str)                             => s ++= str
-        case _ if c >= ' ' || "\n\r\t".contains(c) => s += c
+        case _ if !c.isControl || "\n\r\t".contains(c) => s += c
         case _ => s // noop
       }
     }