Washing your clothing is a somewhat tedious, yet necessary part of life. However, when washing your clothing, you may notice some odd symbols on the tags of your clothing. There are symbols on just about any piece of mass produced clothing. These tags are usually found on the neck of shirts or the waist of pants.
They are placed on the clothing to tell you how exactly that piece of clothing should be washed effectively and without damaging the fabric. While some may be well versed in what exactly these all mean, some are totally aware of what any of them are supposed to represent.
Throughout this article, we are going to go through all of the laundry symbols and let you know exactly what they mean so you know how best to wash your clothes washer repair.
1. This is the basic washing symbol, illustrated as a bucket with water in it. You simply wash your clothes in your machine with no limitations on temperature or other machine settings.
2. A washing symbol with a number in it signifies the temperature the washing machine should be set at when washing that particular article of clothing. If a 30 appears over the wash symbol, it means to wash the clothing at or below 30 °C.
3. If a 40 appears over the wash symbol, it means to wash the clothing at or below 40 °C.
4. If a 50 appears over the wash symbol, it means to wash the clothing at or below 50 °C.
5. If a 60 appears over the wash symbol, it means to wash the clothing at or below 60 °C.
6. If you see a washing symbol with a hand reaching into the water, this indicates that the piece of clothing should be washed by hand.
7. An X over the washing machine indicates that the piece of clothing shouldn’t be washed in a machine at all.
1. This is the basic bleaching symbol, illustrated as a triangle. If this symbol is on the clothing, you can use any bleach to clean the piece of clothing.
2. If the bleaching symbol has the letter CL within the triangle, you can use a chlorine based bleach to wash the piece of clothing.
3. If the bleaching symbol has 2 lines through it, this indicates that you should not use a chlorine based bleach to wash the clothing.
4. If there is an X through the bleach symbol, this indicates that you should not use bleach at all on the piece of clothing.
5. If there is an X through the bleach symbol and it is coloured it, this also indicates that you should not use bleach at all on the piece of clothing.
1. This is the basic tumble drying symbol, illustrated as a square with a circle in the middle. If this symbol appears on your clothing, you can dry the clothing in your machine with no limitations on temperature or other machine settings.
2. If the tumble drying symbol has a single dot in the center of it, this indicates that you should set your machine to a low temperature when drying that piece of clothing.
3. If the tumble drying symbol has two dots in the center of it, this indicates that you can set your machine to the regular temperature when drying that piece of clothing.
4. If the tumble drying symbol has an X through it, this indicates that you should not tumble dry that piece of clothing at all.
1. This is the basic natural drying symbol, illustrated as a square. If this symbol appears on your clothing, it indicates that the piece of clothing should be air dried and not dried in a machine.
2. If the basic natural drying symbol has a line resembling a half circle on the top, this indicates that the piece of clothing should be hung on a line to be dried.
3. If the natural drying symbol has a line going through the center, it indicates that the piece of clothing should be laid flat to be dried.
4. When there are 3 vertical lines going through the natural drying symbol, this indicates that the piece of clothing should be hung up and drip dry.
5. If there are 2 lines crossing through one corner of the natural drying symbol, this indicates that the piece of clothing should be dried in the shade.
6. If there are 2 lines crossing through one corner of the natural drying symbol with another line a line resembling a half circle on the top, it indicates that the piece of clothing should be line dried in the shade.
7. If there is a line going through the center natural drying symbol and 2 lines crossing through one corner, it indicates that the piece of clothing should be laid flat in the shade to be dried.
8. When there are 3 vertical lines going through the natural drying symbol and 2 lines crossing through one corner, this indicates that the piece of clothing should drip dry in the shade.
1. This is the basic ironing symbol, illustrated as a rectangle that has one curved side with an L out coming out of the top. If you see this symbol with no extra dots, you can iron the piece of clothing with no temperature restrictions.
2. If there is a single dot on the basic ironing symbol, this indicates that the piece of clothing should be ironed at a low temperature.
3. If there are 2 dots on the basic ironing symbol, this indicates that the piece of clothing should be ironed at a medium temperature.
4. If there are 3 dots on the basic ironing symbol, this indicates that the piece of clothing should be ironed at a high temperature.
5. If there is an X through the basic ironing symbol, this indicates that the piece of clothing should not be ironed at all.
1. This is the basic dry cleaning symbol, illustrated as a circle. If you see this symbol, it indicates that the piece of clothing should be dry cleaned and has no restrictions on the chemical used.
2. If there is a F in the center of the basic dry cleaning symbol, it indicates that the piece of clothing should be dry cleaned with hydrocarbon solvent.
3. If there is a F in the center of the basic dry cleaning symbol with a line underneath, it indicates that the piece of clothing should be dry cleaned gently with hydrocarbon solvents.
4. If there is a F in the center of the basic dry cleaning symbol with 2 lines underneath, it indicates that the piece of clothing should be dry cleaned very gently with hydrocarbon solvents.
5. If there is a P in the center of the basic dry cleaning symbol, it indicates that the piece of clothing should be dry cleaned with tetrachloroethylene.
6. If there is a P in the center of the basic dry cleaning symbol with a line underneath, it indicates that the piece of clothing should be dry cleaned gently with tetrachloroethylene.
7. If there is a P in the center of the basic dry cleaning symbol with 2 lines underneath, it indicates that the piece of clothing should be dry cleaned very gently with tetrachloroethylene.
8. If there is an X through the basic dry cleaning symbol, indicates that the piece of clothing should not be dry cleaned.
1. This is the basic wet cleaning symbol, illustrated as a circle with a W in the center. If you see this symbol, it indicates that the piece of clothing should be wet cleaned.
2. If there is a single line under the basic wet cleaning symbol, this indicates that the piece of clothing should be wet cleaned gently.
3. If there are 2 lines under the basic wet cleaning symbol, this indicates that the piece of clothing should be wet cleaned very gently.
4. If there is an X through the basic wet cleaning symbol, this indicates that the piece of clothing shouldn’t be wet cleaned.
This was a comprehensive look at what all of the laundry symbols found on clothing mean. To ensure your clothing lasts as long as possible, it is best to be familiar and follow these symbols closely. Use this article as a guide to help make the most out of your clothing purchases!
