With a FREE PDF guide

Someone once said to me “reading laundry care symbols is like reading hieroglyphics” 😅

Ever since hearing that a few months ago, I knew I needed to write a small piece WITH a guide to help y’all out.

Before reading this guide, let me ask you:

• Have you ever bought a beautiful garment, worn it, looked at the care label symbols and thrown it in the laundry basket promising a hand wash that never happens?

• Have you ever read the guide quickly and just thrown it in the washer hoping for me best?

If the responses are yes, well, this laundry symbols guide will definitely help you! All laundry symbols have a specific meaning.

IRONING

Your item can be ironed at any temperature if the care label iron symbol has no dots.

• The more dots on the iron symbol suggests the temperature of heat that can be applied:

  • 1 dot: delicates i.e, silk and wool.

  • 2 dots: synthetics.

  • 3 dots: linen and cotton.

• If there is a cross over the iron symbol you should not iron the item.

DRY CLEANING

If the care label has a small circle the manufacture is stating you must dry clean this item.

• If there is a little letter inside the circle it’s indicating to the dry cleaner what chemical to use.

• The more bars underneath the circle indicate the level of precaution the dry cleaner must take.

• If there is a cross over the circle symbol you should not dry clean the item.

DRYING

If the care label has a circle inside a square, your item can be tumble dried.

• The more dots on the iron symbol suggests the temperature of heat that can be applied:

  • 1 dot = low temperature

  • 2 dots = medium temperature

  • 3 dots = high temperature

• If there is a cross over the tumble dry symbol, you should not tumble dry the item.

HAND WASHING

If the care label has a tub with a hand, your item can be hand washed or put in a delicate washing cycle of 40°C/104°F, or lower.

• Hand washing is better suited for delicate items, like cashmere or silk, because the wash is gentle preventing shrinking or snagging.

• If the care label has a twisted symbol, your item can be wrung.

• If the care label has a cross over the twisted symbol you should not wring the item.

SYNTHETIC WASHING

Your item can be washed in the washing machine if your care label has a tub symbol.

• The number on the tub symbol indicates the maximum temperature that can be applied.

• The more bars underneath the tub indicates a reduction of spinning and rinsing:

  • No bar: The item can be spun and rinsed as normal.

  • 1 bar: Spin speed should be reduced.

  • 2 bars: Mild wash but can be spun and rinsed as normal.

• If there is a cross over the tub symbol you should not wash the item.

While the huge amount of cleaning symbols may seem somewhat overwhelming, they have been created to be as straightforward as possible to make them super easy to remember. I’ve created this cheatsheet for you to use and take with you any and everywhere!