What do laundry symbols mean?
Decoded at choremen.fun/laundry-symbols. The whole label outranks any one symbol.
Five shapes: a tub is washing, a triangle is bleach, a square is drying (with a circle in it, the tumble dryer), an iron is ironing, and a circle on its own is for a professional cleaner. Dots mean heat — more dots, hotter. Lines underneath mean gentler. A cross means don't.
These are the symbols sewn into clothes, not the ones on your washing machine. A machine's dial and its programme names are the manufacturer's own and differ from one machine to the next, so match the temperature and how gentle the label asks for, and the machine's manual says which programme does that.
Decode the symbol in front of you
One symbol is one part of the label. Read the whole label — the words on it and every other symbol — before washing, because together they outrank any one mark. No symbol promises that a stain will come out or that a fabric is safe; it is the most the maker allows.
Every common symbol, in plain words
Tap one to open it on its own, as a link you can send.
Washing — a tub of water, wavy along the top.
- Machine wash at 30°C (86°F) or cooler, on a normal cycle.30°C is the hottest the maker allows, not a setting to aim for. No line underneath means no limit on the cycle or the spin.
- Machine wash at 40°C (104°F) or cooler, on a normal cycle.40°C is the hottest the maker allows, not a setting to aim for. No line underneath means no limit on the cycle or the spin.
- Machine wash at 60°C (140°F) or cooler, on a normal cycle.60°C is the hottest the maker allows, not a setting to aim for. No line underneath means no limit on the cycle or the spin.
- Machine wash at 40°C (104°F) or cooler, on a gentler cycle.40°C is the hottest the maker allows, not a setting to aim for. One line underneath means less movement, a smaller load and a short spin — what a machine might call synthetics or easy care.
- Machine wash at 30°C (86°F) or cooler, on a very gentle cycle.30°C is the hottest the maker allows, not a setting to aim for. Two lines underneath mean very little movement and a small load — what a machine might call wool or delicates.
- Machine wash at 40°C (104°F) or cooler, on a normal cycle.40°C is the hottest the maker allows, not a setting to aim for. No line underneath means no limit on the cycle or the spin. 2 dots is the North American way of writing 40°C.
- Hand wash only.In water no hotter than about 40°C (104°F) — warm, not hot. Squeeze rather than wring or rub, and do not put it in the machine.
- Do not wash it.Not in a machine and not by hand. Read the rest of the label: it usually says whether it can be professionally cleaned instead.
Bleaching — a triangle.
- Any bleach is allowed.Chlorine or oxygen (non-chlorine) bleach, when it is needed. It does not mean it is needed, and it says nothing about the colour holding.
- Oxygen (non-chlorine) bleach only.No chlorine bleach. Oxygen bleach is the kind sold as colour-safe or as a stain-remover powder — check the pack says oxygen or non-chlorine.
- Do not bleach.No chlorine bleach and no oxygen bleach. A detergent with bleach in it counts too, so check the box before you use it on this.
Tumble drying — a square with a circle in it.
- Tumble dry on low heat.The dryer’s low or delicate heat setting. Higher heat is what the maker is ruling out.
- Tumble dry on normal or medium heat.The dryer’s normal setting is fine. It does not need the highest heat.
- Tumble dry with no heat.An air-only or no-heat setting. Most of the drying will still happen on the line or the airer.
- Do not tumble dry.Dry it on a line, an airer or flat, and look for the drying symbol without a circle to see which.
Drying without a machine — a square with no circle in it.
- Hang it up to dry.On a line or a hanger, after a normal spin.
- Drip dry: hang it up wet.Straight out of the wash, without wringing or a long spin, and let the water run off.
- Dry it flat.Laid out on an airer or a towel rather than hung, so it does not stretch out of shape.
- Hang it on a line to dry.The curve along the top is the North American line-dry symbol.
- Hang it up to dry, in the shade.On a line or a hanger, after a normal spin. Out of direct sun — the slanting lines in the corner mean shade.
Ironing — an iron.
- Iron on a low heat.The iron’s coolest setting. Higher heat is what the maker is ruling out.
- Iron on a medium heat.The iron’s middle setting.
- Iron on a high heat.The iron’s hottest setting is allowed.
- Iron on a low heat, without steam.The iron’s coolest setting. Higher heat is what the maker is ruling out. The crossed lines underneath mean no steam: switch it off.
- Do not iron.Not with steam either. Hanging it up as soon as it is dry is what keeps the creases down.
Professional cleaning — a circle on its own.
- It can be dry cleaned.The P tells the dry cleaner which solvents are allowed — that is their decision, not yours, so show them the label.
- It can be dry cleaned.The F tells the dry cleaner which solvents are allowed — that is their decision, not yours, so show them the label.
- It can be professionally wet cleaned.A cleaner’s water-based process — not the same as washing it at home. Show them the label.
- It can be dry cleaned.The P tells the dry cleaner which solvents are allowed — that is their decision, not yours, so show them the label. One line underneath asks them for a gentler process.
- Do not dry clean.Read the rest of the label for how it can be washed instead.
Not on here, or not sure what you are looking at? The words on the garment label say it in full, and the maker of the garment can tell you the rest.
Label read, and there is a stain on it? How to remove common laundry stains — coffee, tea, grease, tomato sauce, grass and ink.
Several things to wash and not sure which go together? Can I wash these clothes together? — sort a pile into loads by colour, fabric and label.
Remember the next towel wash
Towels are the wash that quietly slips. A free list can remember it for you: “Wash towels”, every 10 days, and it says when it is next due once it is on.
That opens a free, private list with “Wash towels” filled in. Nothing is added until you press Add — making an account does not add it.Why that often.
Where these meanings come from
Checked against the care-labelling guidance below. The symbols themselves are set out in ISO 3758 and, in North America, ASTM D5489; this page is not a copy of either, its drawings are its own, and where the two systems disagree it says less rather than pick one.