Laundering clothes correctly facilitates effective and suitable cleaning and drying. Additionally, it lengthens its lifespan and aids in the shape and size retention of clothing. You should follow the care symbols on everything from clothes to bath towels and bedding in addition to knowing how to operate your washer and dryer and choosing the optimal settings for them.
Read also: How To Clean The Grossest Spot In The Kitchen
Laundry symbols are standardized to give uniform visuals for item care recommendations, even though some tags and packaging incorporate written directions. The symbols in the images stand for five different methods of laundry care, and they are always displayed in the following order: washing, bleaching, drying, ironing, and dry cleaning. Every one of the five categories has a basic symbol and variants that represent different aspects of care. This is a brief tutorial on understanding laundry care symbols.
Read also: Cleaning Myths That Could Be Doing More Harm Than Good
Symbols for Laundry Washing
The washing symbols’ foundation is shaped like a tub or wash basin. Washing symbols provide instructions for both hand and machine washing.
Hand-wash only; do not use a washing machine to clean the basin.
The warmest possible water temperature for washing objects is indicated by the dots inside the basin. These are the most prevalent variations; nevertheless, with higher temperatures, you might see even more dots.
Basin with one dot: Cold water
Basin with two dots: Warm water
Basin with three dots: Hot water
Basin with numbers inside Denotes the highest water temperature suitable for washing. But the temperature is shown in Celsius rather than dots.
Basin with 30: Cold water
Basin with 40: Warm water
Basin with 50: Hot water
A basin with lines under it: Indicates the cycle you should choose on your washing machine.
Basin with one line underneath: Permanent press cycle
Basin with two lines underneath: Gentle/delicate cycle
Basin with an X: Do not wash
There is another laundry symbol that resembles a piece of candy, a twist of rope, or even a bowtie; this is the ring symbol, which denotes ringing out an item. An item should not be rung out for washing if it has an X above the ring symbol.
Symbols for Bleaching Laundry
The foundation for symbols pertaining to bleaching instruction is a triangle.
A triangle that is empty: Apply any kind of bleach.
Two diagonal lines within a triangle: Utilize only non-chlorine bleach.
Three triangles with an X on top: Avoid using bleach.
Symbols for Laundry Drying
The basis for drying symbols is a square. Directions for using a machine for tumble drying are shown by a square and a circle; the dryer’s heat settings are shown by the circle, which changes in size. The direction for non-machine drying is indicated by a square with additional components inside, not a circle.
Dryer Symbols
Square with a filled-in circle inside: Tumble dry with no heat
Square with an empty circle inside: Normal setting or tumble dry with any heat
Square with circle and one line underneath: Permanent press setting
Square with a circle and two lines underneath: Delicate/gentle setting
Square with a circle and one dot inside: Low heat
Square with a circle and two dots inside: Medium heat
Square with a circle and three dots inside: High heat
Square and circle with an X over it: Do not tumble dry
Symbols for Non-Machine Drying
Square with a curved line connecting the top two corners: Line dry or hang dry
Square with two small diagonal lines in the top left corner: Line dry in the shade
Square with three short vertical lines inside: Drip dry
Square with a dash inside: Dry flat
Read also: How To Keep Your Shower Clean Daily With Little Effort