What Are the Basic International Care Symbols on Laundry?

When learning how to do laundry, the lesson usually starts with separating clothes and picking the right detergent. To truly care for and extend the lifetime of your favorite fabrics, the first step should always be checking your garment's care tag. 

This label, often found on the side or as part of the tag inside the piece of clothing, contains a set of universal symbols that dictate how best to clean and care for your garment.

 

What are the Five Washing Symbols?

 

The most common symbols you will find on every day clothing items include: washtub, squares with circles inside, triangles, and irons.

 

What Do the Icons Mean on Laundry Care Tags?

Now that you know how to find laundry symbols on your clothing, it's important to understand what they mean so you can effectively care for your clothes and keeping them looking and feeling like-new. 

 

Decoding Common Drying Instructions

 

Drying instructions will typically vary by textile type. For example, something that is made of a more delicate fabric may call for air or line-drying. To decipher this distinction, take a look at the dryer symbol, which is a square with a circle inside of it. Different drying recommendations are depicted by changes to the circle inside the square, denoted with black dots or lines. 

For example, if the circle has a single dot, the recommendation is to tumble dry your clothes on a low heat. If the circle has two dots, it means you can dry the garment on normal heat settings. A general rule of thumb is that the more dots in the circle, the higher the temperature the garment can withstand. This same rule applies for the dots you'll find on washing icons or irons.

 

Bleaching and Chemical Treatment Icons

 

Bleaching your clothes can help make white clothing look brighter and whiter. It's also one way to disinfect fabrics, though you can also disinfect your fabrics with a steamer, which is more effective than conventional detergents alone. That said, adding bleach to clothes that can't tolerate it can be a recipe for wardrobe disaster. 

The symbol for bleaching is a triangle. If there is an "X" marked through the triangle, that means your fabric should not be bleached. Keep in mind that some bleach symbols may have diagonal lines in the middle to indicate the type of bleach recommended. For example, two diagonal bars or lines means that you should use non-chlorinated bleach. 

 

What is the symbol for drying cleaning? 

 

Dry cleaning clothes may seem good in theory, but it can be costly and all-together unnecessary. If your clothes do not have the dry cleaning laundry symbol, a "P" with a circle around it, then dry cleaning is not necessary. If you're looking to refresh your garment, consider steam as means to remove odor and remove wrinkles. Even if your item does require dry cleaning, using steam, which is safe for all fabric types, can be especially helpful for delicate fabrics to keep them crisp between cleanings. 

 

Iron Temperature and Steam Settings Guide

 

If you spot an iron-like symbol on your laundry care instructions, then your fabric is safe for ironing. Like tumble drying, the iron should have some black dots inside the symbol, which are universal for denoting temperature range recommendations or general heat levels. For example, if the iron has a single black dot, the garment should be treated with low heat, whereas two or three dots suggest medium and high heat settings. If the iron symbol is marked with an "X" through it, that means the item should not be ironed. 

If your item cannot be ironed, chances are steaming is still a good option. You can use a 2-in-1 or 3-in-1 steam iron to steam instead of ironing, to avoid heat interacting directly with the fabric. 

 

Water Temperature Guidelines and Symbol Meanings

 

Cold Water Washing Instructions 

 

A washing basin on a garment care tag means that your clothes are safe to wash. That said, wash instructions are a little more complicated than drying instructions because they may suggest how to wash, in what temperature, and on what cycle based on a few different markings. For cold water washing, you'll see one black dot inside the washtub. Cold cycles typically use water between 65°F and 85°F. 

Warm and Hot Water Symbol Interpretations

 

If your clothes can stand the heat, you can turn the temperature up, similar to other cleaning symbols, based on the number of black dots inside the wash basin. Two dots indicate warm water, with a maximum temperature tolerance of around 105°F, whereas three dots mean the maximum heat the item can withstand is 120°F. 

 

Machine Washable vs Hand Wash Symbols

 

Not every garment can withstand the force of a machine washer. If your washtub symbol does not have a hand, but instead has lines underneath, you can feel comfortable using a washing machine to clean your clothes. If your item has a washtub symbol without lines or dots, you can machine wash on a cold, normal wash cycle. 

 

Gentle Cycle and Delicate Fabric Care

 

Washtubs that are underlined with horizontal lines mean your item needs specific cycle settings. A delicate item may not have a hand wash symbol, but if the wash basin is underlined with one single horizontal line, it means the item should be laundered on a "permanent press" cycle setting. If you see two horizontal lines under the wash basin, you should take special care and use the delicate or gentle cycle settings on your machine. You could also choose to hand wash the item. 

 

Special Instructions for Cotton and T-shirts

 

For items like cotton or t-shirts, you may see a symbol on the care tag that is a square with a single horizontal line in the middle. This means the item should be dried flat. This is not the same as hang-drying. This means instead that you should let the item dry on a clean, flat surface. If you are flat-drying an item, it's a good idea to remove as much moisture before leaving it to air dry flat on a surface. 

 

No-Wash and Special Treatment Signs

 

Some items may need special treatment like hand-washing, or may require professional treatment at the dry cleaner. You'll notice symbols like a circle with the letter "P" in the middle to designate "professional" or dry cleaning. You may also see a wash basin with an "X" in the middle to re-emphasize that the item should not be washed. 

If your item is delicate, you may see a wash basin with a hand symbol to suggest hand washing. This symbol may also contain specific water temperatures or dots to designate heat level. 

 

Tumble Dry Instructions Explained

 

Drying symbols are not so different from washing symbols. Instead of a wash basin, you'll notice a square with a circle inside of it if it can go in an electric dryer. 

 

Understanding Tumble Dry Low Settings

 

If an item is marked with the dryer setting and a single black dot, that means it should be dried with a low-heat setting. If the circle does not have dots but is fully shaded and filled in, that means you can tumble dry but should not use heat. Some newer machine dryers have "air dry" settings that do not use added heat. 

 

Air Drying and Line Dry Symbols

 

While a circle inside of a square indicates machine drying, a square with a curved line means that the item should be line-dried. 

Take caution when line drying because exposure to sunlight can cause discoloration, and line-drying outside can introduce allergens. Using a steamer can help lift dirt and allergens that may have been trapped in the fabric when drying outdoors.

If your item has a machine dryer symbol that has an "X" drawn through it, this means that your item should not be machine dried, however, it does not necessarily mean you need to line or hang-dry your item. You can also air dry indoors by flat-drying on a clean surface or drying on an indoor drying rack. 

Heat Level Indicators for Different Fabrics

Pay close attention to the black dots on your dryer symbols. If you are machine drying, using the wrong heat setting could cause shrinkage and other damage to your fabrics. Like the washing symbols, horizontal lines under the icon indicate specific cycles to use depending on fabric types. 

One line under the machine dryer symbol means that it should be on a permanent press cycle, which is designed to reduce wrinkles. Two lines under the machine dryer symbol mean you should use a delicate or gentle drying cycle. Gentle cycles tend to run longer, as they use less heat to avoid damaging delicate fabrics.