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A Guide to Laundry Symbols

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A Guide to Laundry Symbols

Recognize these? Over the years, you’ve probably seen some of these laundry symbols on your clothes and garments, but still don’t know what they all mean. Each symbol tells you important information about your fabric that will help maintain its integrity and beauty to keep it lasting and looking good longer. These industry standard symbols provide specifications on how to properly wash, dry, clean and iron clothes and textiles.

Decode your clothes with our comprehensive guide below and click here to print a hangable guide on your laundry room wall for easy reference!

DRY CLEANING SYMBOLS

Do Not Dry Clean

The Do Not Dry Clean Symbol is a circle crossed out with an “x” mark. These items can be easily damaged by solvents used in dry cleaning processes.

Dry Clean

The Dry Clean Symbol is a circle and indicates a garment is best cleaned by a professional dry cleaner.  Avoid washing anything marked with this symbol in your washing machine as it can damage or destroy certain fabrics. Instead, take it to a professional dry cleaners and enjoy your item for years to come.

Any Solvent and Any Solvent

Except

The Dry Clean Symbol shown with a capital letter “A” means your dry cleaner can use any solvent to clean the material. A letter “P” means they can use any solvent except anything specifically listed.

Petroleum Solvent

If instead of a “P” you see the letter “F” inside the standard Dry Clean Symbol this means you professional dry cleaner will be using petroleum based solvents and cannot be machine dry cleaned. This is usually needed for fine, delicate fabrics that can be damaged by solvents used in standard dry cleaning.

WASHING SYMBOLS

Machine Wash

The Machine Wash Symbol appears as a bucket filled with water. This symbol will also tell you recommended water temperature with a series of dots in the middle, and what cycle type to set your washing machine to with lines added underneath the bucket.

Temperature

Cool/Cold= One Dot (30ºC, 86ºF)

Warm = Two Dots (40ºC, 104ºF)

Hot= Three Dots (50ºC, 122ºF)

Cycle

Normal = Standard Machine Wash Symbol

The Normal Cycle is intended to remove stains and dirt from common durable fabrics using fast agitation and a fast spin cycle.

Permanent Press = One Line

The Permanent Press Cycle is intended to remove wrinkles by using warm water to relax creases and slowly spinning to prevent new ones.

Delicate/Gentle = Two Lines

The Delicate or Gentle Cycle is intended to gently wash delicate items and protect them from unnecessary damage by using slower agitation and rinse modes.

Hand Wash

The Hand Wash Symbol depicts the standard Wash Symbol with a hand above. For ‘Hand Wash’ clothing, do not use the washing machine. Instead, wash garments in a sink or small tub, using your hands to wash and rinse the fabric. Opt for any GO by greenshield organic™ Laundry Detergent variety to care for delicate hand wash items.

Our USDA Certified Organic low-sudsing formula rinses away clean and is safe and gentle on even the most sensitive hands. See our back label for instructions on how much detergent to use when hand washing, and check out our step-by-step guide to lean How To Hand Wash Your Laundry like a pro.

Do Not Wash

The Never Wash Symbol shows the standard Wash Symbol crossed out with an “x” mark. Items with this symbol should never be washed. To clean, you may be able to spot treat trouble areas. Many times an item with this symbol will instead show a Dry Clean Symbol recommended for cleaning the material.

BLEACHING SYMBOLS

Do Not Bleach

The Do Not Bleach Symbol appears as a solid triangle crossed out with an “x” mark. This indicates you should never attempt to use any type of bleach on that item as it can damage or destroy the fabric.

Bleach

The Bleach Symbol appears as a triangle. This means that chlorine based bleaching is allowed, but only if cold and part of a dilute solution. This bleach symbol is usually found on white clothes with a hard wearing fabric. You may notice an indicator below the triangle that states “as needed” or “bleach when needed”, which indicates you should bleach sparingly only on an as-need basis to prevent damage.

Non-Chlorine Bleach

The Non-Chlorine Bleach Symbol appears as a triangle  with two diagonal lines. Check the ingredients on your bleach to see if it contains Chlorine before use. Non-chlorine bleach does not contain chlorine, an oxidizing agent. Instead, it usually contains an alternative oxidizing agent, like hydrogen peroxide.

DRYING SYMBOLS

Tumble Dry

The Tumble Dry Symbol is a square with a circle in the middle of it. As with the washing symbols, the number of dots inside the circle will tell you the appropriate heat setting to use, and lines beneath it will indicate any specific cycle settings.

Temperature

Any Heat = Standard Tumble Dry Symbol

No Heat = Solid Circle

Low Heat = One Dot

Medium Heat = Two Dots

High Heat = Three Dots

Cycle

Normal Cycle = No Lines

Permanent Press = One Line

Delicate Setting = Two Lines

Do Not Tumble Dry

The Do Not Tumble Dry Symbol is the standard Tumble Dryer Symbol crossed out with an “x” mark. Do not dry any items marked with this symbol in your dryer. Instead, look for drip dry or line dry symbols. If no recommendations appear use your best judgement.

Line Dry

The Line Dry Symbol is a square with a curved line inside to represent a clothes line. Hang clothes outdoors from a clothes line to dry, temperature allowing.

Drip Dry

The Drip Dry Symbol is a square with three vertical lines in the middle. Hang clothes from a drying rack in a warm space with good air circulation.

Dry Flat

The Dry Flat Symbol is a square with two diagonal lines in the upper left hand corner. Reshape your garment and place flat to dry on a clean white towel for best results.

Dry in Shade or Line Dry In Shade

The Dry in Shade Symbol is a square with one horizontal line in the middle. The Line Dry In Shade Symbol will also have a curved line seen in the standard Line Dry Symbol. These garments can be damaged by prolonged direct sun exposure and should be dried in a warm shady location.

Do Not Wring or Wring

The Wring Symbol looks like a piece of twisted fabric and the Do Not Wring Symbol shows it crossed out with an “x” mark. Wringing fabrics out when wet can cause damage to fibers, stitching and fine details in certain fabrics. Either wring excess moisture away if acceptable, or press excess moisture out with a clean dry white towel if not.

IRONING SYMBOLS

Iron

The Iron Symbol resembles an old fashioned iron. Just like dry and wash symbols the Iron Symbol can have a dot or series of dots to reference the temperature the garment can stand. 

One Dot = Low Heat
Two Dots = Medium Heat
Three Dots = High Heat

Do Not Steam

The Do Not Steam Symbol looks like the standard Iron Symbol with two lines beneath indicating steam crossed out by an “x” mark. Steam will likely damage this fabric but regular ironing may be acceptable under recommended heat conditions.

Do Not Iron

The Do Not Iron Symbol looks like the standard Iron Symbol crossed out by an “x” mark. Never attempt ironing any fabric that shows this symbol as it may melt, scorch or catch on fire.

Disclaimer: This blog is for entertainment and informational purposes only.  It should not be seen as medical or any other advice. Our writers are not medical experts so individual precautions should be considered.

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How to Read Laundry Symbols

Laundry symbols seem like another language, but the washing instruction symbols on your garments’ care labels tell you exactly how to do the washing and drying, as well as give extra information on bleaching and ironing. Read on for our quick guide to what the symbols mean, or download and print your own laundry symbols chart to refer to when you see a symbol you don’t recognize.

Washing Symbols

Getting the temperature and wash cycle right is important for seeing great laundry results, and can even prevent damage to your clothes. The clothes washing symbols below can give you an idea for temperature, indicated by the number of dots in the tub of water symbol, whereas different cycle types are represented by a tub with one or two lines drawn under it.

Washing cycle symbols

Washing temperature symbols

Washing machine symbols

Important: Don't forget to look out for dry clean signs, given by a circle, or hand wash symbols, indicated by a tub of water with a hand sign, so you'll know when to avoid putting garments in the washing machine.

Drying Symbols

Drying is an important part of the clothing care process, but we’ve all heard those scary stories of cashmere sweaters that come out of the wash three sizes too small.

Knowing your dryer symbols, like the square with a circle in the middle that indicates tumble drying allowed, can help you avoid putting the wrong garment in the tumble dryer. Other symbols can give you additional information, such as a square with a horizontal line in the middle means you should dry the item flat, or the crossed-out twisted symbol, which tells you not to wring the garment. The temperature is given by the increasing number of dots inside a circle.

General drying symbols

Drying temperature symbols

Tumble dry laundry symbols

Bleaching symbols

If you want to use bleach, you’ll want to take a look at your garment’s fabric care label to see if there is a bleach symbol, given by a triangle ormore importantly a do not bleach symbol, a triangle crossed out. Recognizing these signs can save your garment from getting permanently damaged by chlorine bleach.

Bleaching symbols

Ironing Symbols

Some fabrics look great after ironing but others, like more delicate materials, can be damaged. There are even some fabrics that simply need special care when ironing.

For example, if you want to iron your new dress shirt and you want to know if it can be ironed safely, lookout for the iron symbol on your garment, represented by a little iron symbol with dots in the middle that denote the temperature setting, like those shown below.

Ironing symbols

Download Your Laundry Symbols Guide

Don’t let laundry symbols confuse you. Get this printable laundry symbols guide and keep it to hand the next time you do the laundry. Once you download this laundry symbols pdf you’ll be a pro when it comes to doing your laundry. Download now

Laundry symbols are there to guide you, so your clothes get the care they deserve. Make sure you use the right laundry detergent for the wash cycle you pick, like Tide Plus Coldwater Clean for cold washes, or use a detergent like Tide PODS® that’s suitable for any temperature. Get the best out of your laundry, with a little help from Tide, and if you need more detailed information, visit our comprehensive guide on how to do laundry.

Symbols and signs for clothing care: what to look for

Each textile product, whether it is a piece of clothing, bed linen or a roll of cloth, the manufacturer attaches a label on which, using special symbols, indicates information about the composition of the material and the rules of care. This brief instruction allows the buyer to determine at a glance whether the item can be washed or dry cleaning is required; how to iron and dry textiles; Is bleaching acceptable? Therefore, before buying a new blouse or T-shirt, you must definitely look into the “passport” of the product, because sooner or later any thing will become dirty and require cleaning. nine0003

Symbol application rules

Garment care marks are usually located on the side seams or in the collar area from the inside.

After the textile product is made, labels are attached to it, which are fabric ribbons with symbols printed on them. Sometimes a label made of material is duplicated with paper. On clothes, the label should be looked for in the collar area or in the side seams on the wrong side.

Information can be applied in several ways: embroidered, embossed or printed. The main thing is that the state standards established in 1971, according to which the inscriptions must be made with paint contrasting with the main color of the label, and the symbols must have dimensions of at least 8 mm. All basic operations have their own symbolism, but it may vary slightly for manufacturers in different countries.

Clothing care symbols on the label must be placed in a specific sequence: wash, bleach, dry, tumble dry, iron, dry clean. Each character has additional characters:

If you look closely at the construction of symbols, you can see a general pattern, after which it will not be difficult to deal with pictograms. nine0003

Meaning of symbols for product care

To ensure that the textile product does not lose its original appearance after the next cleaning, you must follow the manufacturer's recommendations left on the label.

Washing

If a hand is depicted inside the trapezoid, then the product can only be washed by hand.

The symbol indicating whether or not the item can be washed is shown as a container filled with water. The designation is the same for both hand and machine wash. nine0003

  1. The image does not contain additional signs - hand and machine washable.
  2. The container is crossed out with a cross - any washing is prohibited.
  3. A hand is depicted inside the trapezoid - hand wash only.
  4. The numbers located inside the container indicate the temperature of the water allowed during processing.
  5. One and two horizontal lines under the image of the container indicate that the product can only be subjected to delicate or extra delicate washing. nine0014

If you deviate from the manufacturer's recommendations regarding washing, the consequences can be the most unexpected, up to damage to the product.

Whitening

Whitening is indicated by the triangle icon.

The whitening icon is mainly found on clothes and underwear that are originally white. Over time, such things acquire a grayish tint and require bleaching. However, not all tissues tolerate this procedure equally. When buying white textiles, you should carefully consider the information on the possibility of bleaching and the composition of the acceptable bleaching agent. The whitening symbol is a triangle. nine0003

  1. A triangle that does not contain additional information inside indicates that the item can be bleached with any preparations.
  2. A crossed out triangle indicates no bleaching.
  3. If the letters Cl are inside the triangle, then the product can be bleached with products containing chlorine.
  4. A triangle with oblique lines inside indicates the possibility of bleaching only with oxygen-containing preparations.

If the label does not contain information about the bleaching rules of the product, it is necessary to focus on the composition of the material from which it is made. nine0003

Drying and spinning

A correctly washed item must be able to gently wring out and dry thoroughly. To find out the manufacturer's recommendations for drying and wringing, you need to find a quadrangle on the label.

  1. A square with a circle inside - a symbol that allows spinning and drying in automatic mode. If the sign is crossed out, then it is forbidden to dry and wring out such a thing in the car.
  2. The ban on any spin, both machine and manual, looks like the following pictogram: a circle is placed in a quadrilateral, inside which a horizontally located hourglass is depicted. nine0014
  3. There are icons indicating at what temperature the product can be dried in the drum of the machine, whether it can be hung on a coat hanger or better laid out on a horizontal surface, whether exposure to sunlight is acceptable during drying or it is necessary to place the item in the shade.

Clothes dried properly retain their original color for a long time and are easy to iron.

Ironing

The ironing options for different items can vary significantly.

Information about the ironing rules that the manufacturer wants to convey to the buyer is presented using an image of an iron. nine0003

  1. If the picture shows an iron without accessories, ironing is permitted.
  2. The same symbol, crossed out, prohibits ironing.
  3. Delicate materials can be ironed at a maximum temperature of +140 °C. This will be indicated by the pictogram, which shows an iron placed in a circle of dots.
  4. 1 to 3 bold dots can be painted inside the iron. This symbolism indicates the maximum allowable ironing temperature of the material. One point corresponds to +110 °С, two - +150 °С, three - +200 °С. nine0014

Some fabrics require steaming when ironed, while others cannot. There are materials that can only be ironed when wet. You can also learn about these nuances from the label for clothes.

Professional cleaning

Not all textiles can be cleaned at home. Bulky, thick materials, outerwear, hats and many other items often require professional dry cleaning. The possibility of such processing is indicated by a circle drawn on the label. nine0003

  1. Regular circle without additional elements allows any dry cleaning.
  2. If the circle is crossed out, the product must not be dry-cleaned.

Which chemicals can be used in the dry cleaning process of the product is indicated by the letters inside the circle.

All textiles require cleaning from time to time. Compliance with the rules of washing, drying and ironing, indicated in the form of symbols on the label, will allow the clothes to retain their original appearance for a long time, and its owner will always look clean and tidy.


Complete decoding of symbols and icons for the care of fabrics and textile products :: FINIST

GOST 169 is used to apply care symbols on the marking for furniture and curtain materials and to read these symbols.58-71. Manufacturers of the final product can add other symbols in accordance with GOST ISO 3758-2014, clarifying some points. There are also symbols that are not regulated by our standards.

Five characters are required

washing

bleaching

ironing

dry cleaning

drying after washing

The intensity of the impact on the material is indicated by underlining the symbol

Wash

Involves soaking, heating temperature, prewash, rinsing and various intensity of mechanical action.

The temperature is usually indicated by numbers in degrees Celsius. If there are dots under the numbers (USA), then:

Example:

Maximum temperature 60°C. Mechanical effects are normal. Rinsing is normal.

Maximum temperature 60°C. Mechanical impact is very mild. Rinsing is normal.

Hand wash only. Do not machine wash. Do not rub, do not squeeze. Maximum temperature 40°C.

Whitening

Provides whitening or stain removal with several types of reagents.

Bleaching with any oxidizing agent is permitted.

The product may be bleached with chlorine-releasing agents.

Only oxygen/non-chlorine bleach is allowed.

Do not bleach.

Ironing

It is regulated by such parameters as the temperature of the sole of the iron, the presence or absence of steam, the presence or absence of protective material (calico or cover on the sole of the iron), ironing only from the wrong side (does not have its own sign). Not all of the listed symbols are specified in GOST. nine0003

Iron at maximum soleplate temperature 200° C.

Iron at maximum soleplate temperature 150° C.

Iron at maximum soleplate temperature 110° C, no steam.
Steam ironing can cause permanent damage.

Do not iron.

Badges not according to GOST

Iron without steam.

Iron through calico.

Dry cleaning

This is a process for the professional cleaning of a textile by treating it with an anhydrous solvent or with a minimal amount of water, excluding wet cleaning. As with washing, the product is subjected to rinsing, mechanical stress in a centrifuge, and spinning.

Product can be chemically cleaned using all common organic solvents.

Professional dry clean in tetrachlorethylene and all solvents listed for symbol F.
Normal mode.

Professional dry clean in tetrachlorethylene and all solvents listed for symbol F.
Soft mode.

Professional dry cleaning in hydrocarbons (distillation temperature 150° C to 210° C, flash point 38° C to 70° C)
Normal mode.

Professional dry cleaning in hydrocarbons (distillation temperature 150° C to 210° C, flash point 38° C to 70° C)
Soft mode. nine0003

Do not dry clean.

Water cleaning

Wet dry cleaning, like dry dry cleaning, is carried out by cleaning, centrifuging and wringing, but using detergents and additives that reduce the adverse effects of the cleaning procedure.

Professional wet cleaning (water cleaning).
Normal mode.

Professional wet cleaning (water cleaning).
Soft mode.

Professional wet cleaning (water cleaning). nine0114 Very soft mode.

Professional wet cleaning prohibited (wet cleaning)

Drying

After cleaning or washing, it is necessary to go through the drying process. It can be natural or drum, carried out by treating the product or material with hot air in a rotating drum. Natural drying can be vertical on a rope/hanger/bar or horizontal on a flat surface.

Learn more