The Meaning of Each Laundry & Washing Symbol on Labels [Full Guide]
Have you ever wondered what the laundry and washing symbols inside your clothes mean? These cleaning instructions for clothes help you protect your precious clothes when handwashing them or putting them into the washing machine. Many people don’t know the actual meaning of washing and laundry labels, but it’s going to change today.
In this article, we’ll discuss all the washing and laundry labels you typically find on clothing tags.
Why Are Laundry Symbols Important?
Washing and laundry labels are instructions that help you wash your clothes without causing damage to the fabric. Following these instructions extends your clothing’s lifespan, prevents discolouration, prevents the forming of fabric pills or lint balls and keeps the fabric smooth and fresh every time you wash it.
These instructions aren’t only for washing but also show the correct way to iron and dry the clothes. Certain fabrics may also require bleaching, which the label provides instructions for if necessary.
Where Can You Find Laundry Symbols?
Typically, you can find wash care and laundry symbols inside the cloth or on the side of towels, bedsheets or other fabric items.
Recently, many fishing companies and clothing manufacturers have included the washing instructions in text rather than symbols to make the work for consumers easier. That is why clothing tags are turning into multilayered labels just like a tiny instruction manual.
But in general, most clothing items come with washing and laundry symbols on the label to help you take good care of your clothing items.
Read More: How Often Should You Clean Your Beauty Tools?
Washing Symbols
General washing:
- Machine washable on normal cycle
- Machine washable on synthetic cycle
- Machine washable on gentle cycle
- Do not machine wash
- Hand wash only
- Do not wring
- Can wring
Washing temperature:
- Wash at or below 30°C – Cold wash programme on washing machine
- Wash at or below 40°C – Warm wash programme on washing machine
- Wash at or below 50°C – Warm wash programme on washing machine
- Wash at or below 60°C – Hot wash programme on washing machine
- Wash at or below 70°C – Hot wash programme on washing machine
- Wash at or below 95°C – Hot wash programme on washing machine
Dry/Wet Cleaning Symbols
General dry cleaning:
- Can dry clean
- Do not dry clean
- Dry clean with any solvent
- Dry clean with hydrocarbon solvent only
- Dry clean with hydrocarbon solvent only – Gentle cycle
- Dry clean with hydrocarbon solvent only – Very gentle cycle
- Dry clean with PCE solvent
- Dry clean with PCE solvent – Gentle cycle
- Dry clean with PCE solvent – Very gentle cycle
Dry/wet cleaning programme/temperature:
- Dry clean – Short cycle
- Dry clean with reduced moisture
- Dry clean – Low heat
- Dry clean without steam
- Can wet clean
- Do not wet clean
- Wet clean – Gentle cycle
- Wet clean – Very gentle cycle
Bleaching Symbols
- Can bleach
- Do not bleach
- Do not bleach
- Can bleach with Chlorine
- Do not bleach with Chlorine – Non-Chlorine Bleach
- Do not bleach with Chlorine – Non-Chlorine Bleach
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Drying Symbols
Air drying:
- Natural air dry
- Do not air dry
- Line dry
- Dry flat
- Drip dry
- Dry in shade
- Line dry in shade
- Dry flat in shade
- Drip dry in shade
Tumble drying:
- Tumble dry – Normal cycle
- Tumble dry – Low heat
- Tumble dry – Medium heat
- Tumble dry – High heat
- Tumble dry – No heat
- Tumble dry – Gentle cycle
- Tumble dry – Very gentle cycle
- Do not tumble dry
Ironing Symbols
- Can iron
- Do not iron
- Iron – Low temperature
- Iron – Medium temperature
- Iron – High temprature
- Can steam iron
- Do not steam iron
Read More: How to Clean and Descale Iron at Home?
Conclusion
Washing and laundry symbols on the clothing labels are instructions on how to correctly wash, clean, bleach, dry and iron clothing and fabrics. These instructions help you to take good care of your clothing items, bedsheets, linen, duvets, towels and other fabric items. This article provided a full guide on all common washing and laundry symbol on clothing tags.
The information provided by this article can help you protect your favourite clothing and prevent damage, lint balls and fabric pills, discolouration and other forms of fabric damage.
