Have you ever noticed a small tag like a card or cloth-based lining in your garment that has unique symbols on it? If yes, then you should have seen the washing label symbols. These are the usual clothes washing symbols that let the person know how to clean, wash, or dry a particular piece of fabric.
Ignoring these clothing care symbols can, in turn, damage your cloth if not followed as instructed. So, the purpose of the following context is to help you with the different labels (cloth tags) and the meaning of washing symbols used frequently over it. Take this as your quick washing symbols guide!
Here are the Most Common Laundry Washing Symbols
Now, let’s see the various washing symbols on clothes and what these garment symbols indeed represents;
1. How You Should Wash Your Clothes
If you had seen any clothing symbols shown like a bucket with some temperature or even a cross in it, then those icons denote the symbols for washing clothes. Some of the frequent ones washing symbols explained are included in the following:
- Plain bucket with water – machine washable.
- Bucket with 30° – wash cold.
- Bucket with 40° – wash warm.
- Bucket with 60° – wash hot.
- Plain bucket with water and a line below – synthetics cycle.
- Bucket with water and hand image – hand wash.
And if there is a cross (wrong/cut) marked on the symbol (mostly in red colour), then it means you should not do any garment washing or wringing.
2. Whether to use bleach or not?
Look before you put your bleach into the washing machine! Because there are special fabric care labels on how to actually use bleach for your clothes and here they are;
- A triangle marked with X – do not bleach.
- A triangle marked with 2 lines in the corner – use non-chlorine bleach.
- A plain triangle – bleaching allowed.
As simple as that, so always look into the triangle before you pour your bleach.
3. How to dry your clothes after washing them?
You might have cleaned and washed your garments effectively but you must also take this effort for drying your clothes too. And here are a few drying icons explained;
- Plain circle – tumble dry allowed on any heat.
- Circle with a centre dot – tumble dry on low heat.
- Circle with 3 dots in the centre – tumble dry on high heat.
- A circle inside a box with a line below – permanent press/synthetics.
- A circle inside a box with 2 lines below – delicate or gentle dry.
- Box with 3 vertical lines – drip dry.
- Box with 1 horizontal line – dry flat.
- A bag like a shape – hang to dry.
And if you see an X mark symbolised over the logo, then it surely means you can perform a tumble dry for that fabric.
4. Guide to ironing your clothes
Check for these symbols described below to know how you must iron your fabric similar to how the best dry cleaners in Bangalore would do;
- An iron box with one dot in the centre – iron cool (max 110° C)
- An iron box with two dots in the centre – iron medium (max 150° C)
- An iron box with three dots in the centre – iron hot (max 200° C)
Similar to the stated before washing symbols, you should look for the cross marks, as it denotes “do not iron” or “steaming not allowed”.
5. What kind of dry cleaning should you go for?
Dry cleaning-based washing clothes symbols are quite easy to reciprocate and listed below are the 4 common ones;
- Plain circle – dry clean only.
- Circle with the symbol ‘A’ – any solvent.
- Circle with the symbol ‘P’ – any solvent except trichloroethylene.
- Circle with the symbol ‘F’ – petroleum solvent only.
If you see an X marked over the circle (in red mostly), then it represents “do not dry clean” the garment!
6. Additional symbols
As an added fact to whatever aforementioned, have you ever noticed the symbol of a circle with a line drawn outside its shape in either of the directions? Then those clothing label symbols are none other than how you must dry cleaning for the most delicate fabrics;
- Circle with a line drawn down on the left side – short cycle.
- Circle with a line drawn up on the right side – reduced moisture.
- Circle with a line drawn down on the right side – low heat.
- Circle with a line drawn up on the left side – no steam finishing.
Even a professional laundry service in Bangalore or any other region to the state will follow all the instructions provided on the clothes tag! So, ensure you take time to understand them and you follow them too.
Conclusion
There are so many washing clothes symbols that you would have come across in your day-to-day life when washing, cleaning, and drying your garments. Understanding these symbols are vital to maintaining the quality and durability of the fabrics. If you are still confused about how to use these symbols rightly, then please take a consultation or support from any online laundry service or the one near your place by searching ‘cloth washing near me’, you may find companies in and around your locality
