Laundry Symbols
Laundry symbols, also called care symbols, are those little pictograms on your clothing labels that represent how a garment is best cleaned. The treatments indicated by the symbols are "the maximum permitted treatments" and are not required or recommended. Milder forms of treatment and lower temperatures than those indicated on the label are almost always OK. For example, if a label indicates washing in hot water and tumble-drying, washing in cold water and drying on a clothesline are also acceptable. Here are most of the common laundry symbols.
Wash
Machine Wash, Normal Garment may be laundered with the hottest available water, detergent or soap, agitation, and a machine designed for this purpose.
Machine Wash, Cold Initial water temperature should not exceed 65° to 85°F.
Machine Wash, Warm Initial water temperature should not exceed 105°F.
Machine Wash, Hot Initial water temperature should not exceed 120°F.
Machine Wash, Hot Initial water temperature should not exceed 140°F.
Machine Wash, Permanent Press Garment may be machine laundered only on the setting designed to preserve Permanent Press, with cool down or cold rinse prior to reduced spin.
Machine Wash, Gentle or Delicate Garment may be machine laundered only on the setting designed for gentle agitation and/or reduced time for delicate items.
Hand Wash Garment may be laundered with water, detergent or soap and gentle hand manipulation.
Do Not Wash Garment may not be safely laundered by any process. Normally accompanied by dry-cleaning instructions.
Bleach
NOTE: All (98+%) washable textiles are safe in some type of bleach. IF BLEACH IS NOT MENTIONED OR REPRESENTED BY A SYMBOL, ANY BLEACH MAY BE USED.
Bleach When Needed Any commercially available bleach product may be used in the laundering process.
Non-Chlorine Bleach When Needed Only a non-chlorine, color-safe bleach may be used in the laundering process. Chlorine bleach may not be used.
Do Not Bleach No bleach product may be used. The garment is not colorfast or structurally able to withstand any bleach.
Dry
Tumble Dry, Normal A machine dryer may be regularly used at the hottest available temperature setting.
Tumble Dry, Normal, Low Heat A machine dryer may be regularly used at a maximum of Low Heat setting.
Tumble Dry, Normal, Medium Heat A machine dryer may be regularly used at a maximum of Medium Heat setting.
Tumble Dry, Normal, High Heat A machine dryer may be regularly used at a High Heat setting.
Tumble Dry, Normal, No Heat A machine dryer may be regularly used only at No Heat or Air Only setting. NOTE: SYSTEM OF DOTS INDICATING TEMPERATURE RANGE IS THE SAME FOR ALL DRY PROCEDURES.
Tumble Dry, Permanent Press A machine dryer may be regularly used only at the Permanent Press setting.
Tumble Dry, Gentle A machine dryer may be regularly used only at the Gentle setting.
Do Not Tumble Dry A machine dryer may not be used. Usually accompanied by an alternate drying method symbol.
Do Not Dry A machine dryer may not be used. Usually accompanied by an alternate drying method symbol.
Line Dry Hang damp garment from line or bar, in- or outdoors.
Drip Dry Hang dripping-wet garment from line or bar, in- or outdoors, without hand shaping or smoothing.
Dry Flat Lay out horizontally for drying.
Dry In Shade Usually added to Line or Drip Dry. Dry away from direct sunlight.
Wring
Do Not Wring Do Not Wring.
Iron
NOTE: IF IRONING IS NOT NECESSARY, REGULAR CARE PROCEDURE NEED NOT BE MENTIONED.
Iron, Low Regular ironing, steam or dry, may be performed at Low setting (230°F) only.
Iron, Medium Regular ironing, steam or dry, may be performed at Medium setting (300°F).
Iron, High Regular ironing, steam or dry, may be performed at High setting (290°F). NOTE: SYSTEM OF DOTS INDICATING TEMPERATURE RANGE IS THE SAME FOR ALL IRONING PROCEDURES.
Do Not Steam Steam ironing will harm garment, but regular dry ironing at indicated temperature setting is acceptable.
Do Not Iron Item may not be smoothed or finished with an iron.
Dry-clean
Dry-clean Dry-clean, any solvent, any cycle any moisture, any heat.
Dry-clean, Any Solvent Dry-clean, any solvent. Usually used with other restrictions on proper dry-cleaning procedure.
Dry-clean, Petroleum Solvent Only Dry-clean using only petroleum solvent. Usually used with other restrictions.
Dry-clean, Any Solvent Except Trichloroethylene Any dry-cleaning solvent other than trichloroethylene may be safely used.
Do Not Dry-clean Garment may not be commercially dry-cleaned.
Tips & Tricks
Many stains are more likely to be removed entirely if soaked in cold water before it has had time to set.
If in doubt, test your color garment for colorfastness – apply warm water to an inconspicuous part (inside of the hem, for instance), then press this part with a warm iron between two pieces of white cloth.
To protect your favorite garments, try turning them inside out before washing.
Use a partitioned laundry basket to sort your laundry as you remove it.
Overloading your washing machine could mean that your clothes don’t properly get clean.
White streaks of powder left behind on your clothes due to undissolved detergent are usually caused by overloading your machine, and can be removed with an additional rinse cycle.
Washing much smaller loads on non-cotton cycles to give more freedom of movement in the drum and result in better cleaning.
Using too little detergent can cause whites to become dingy as there are insufficient ingredients to hold soils in the water so they don’t redeposit on the garments.
Overdosing in a soft-water area can lead to “oversudsing” which, in extreme cases, can mean suds come out of the machine.
Always check the fabric care label for the manufacturer’s washing recommendations.
Some dyes will bleed even in very cold water, so always sort your washing into light colors, dark colors, whites, and delicates.
To compensate for washing at lower temperatures, try using a Cotton (most agitation) or Synthetic cycle, if the garment care label allows. There are also detergents specially designed to work in cold water.
Whenever possible, dry your clothes outside on a line; you could see significant energy savings.
Make sure to close all zippers, fasteners, and hooks to prevent and reduce abrasion of fabric and consider placing delicate items into mesh laundry bags.
To pre-treat stains, apply undiluted laundry detergent directly onto stained areas. For best results, allow product to sit on stain for a few minutes, scrub product into stain, then wash.
When adding chlorine bleach, always use the bleach dispenser on your washer to ensure that it is added at the right time in the wash cycle. If your machine does not have a dispenser, add chlorine bleach at the end of the wash cycle.
Check garment care labels for recommended wash temperature.
For all HE washers, make sure to use a low-sudsing HE detergent.
Use the right amount of detergent. Follow package directions carefully. For heavily soiled and/or large loads, use more detergent.
If you do not have a detergent dispenser on your machine, add the detergent while the washer fills with water, ensure the detergent has dissolved, then add the clothes.
Keep your washing machine free of residues by running a monthly wash cycle with Tide Washing Machine Cleaner.
