The meaning of laundry symbols; an explanation by appliance and symbol

Which symbol should not be in the washer? What does a circle with a cross through it mean? What does the dryer symbol with a dot mean? In this blog you will find the answer to this and more.

Directly to the laundry symbols meaning for:

• Washing

• Drying with a tumble dryer

• Air drying

• Dry cleaning

• Bleaching

• Ironing

Washing symbols per appliance

The washing prescription signs that appear on the label of your clothes are not always clear. After reading this blog, you'll know exactly what they are. You'll also read what to do best if the washing label is missing.

Washer symbols

You can recognize washing symbols by the washtub.

Not in the washer
Have the garment steamed or wash it by hand. You know what to do when you see steam or hand wash symbols.

Hand wash
Wash the garment by hand. Or use the hand wash program. Most washers have this these days.

Do not wring
Roll the garment in a thick towel to remove excess water. Wringing it out damages the fibers.

Temperature
Wash the garment to the number of degrees specified in the wash tub. In this case, up to 30 °C.

Delicate wash program
Use a wrinkle resistant and shorter wash program and a low(er) spin speed.

Extra delicate wash program
Select the extra delicate wash program. Skip spinning if you can.

American washer symbols

You may find American laundry symbols in your clothes. These are slightly different. Below is the explanation of American laundry symbols.

Wash up to 30 °C
Wash the garment around 30 °C or 85°F.

Wash up to 40 °C
Wash the garment around 40°C or 105°F.

Wash up to 50 °C
Wash the garment around 50°C or 120°F.

Wash up to 60 °C
Wash the garment around 60°C or 140°F.

Wash up to 70 °C
Wash the garment around 70°C or 160°F.

Delicate wash program
Wash the garment around 30 °C using a delicate wash program.

Good to know

• There is no separate wash symbol for spinning. Spinning is indicated via other symbols. For example, is there no line under the wash tub? Use the normal spin speed.

• Does the washtub show the temperature and one or more stripes below it? Wash the garment with a delicate wash program at the indicated temperature. Skip spinning if you can.

Dryer symbols

Symbols for the clothes dryer can be recognized by the square with circle.

Do tumble dry
Let this garment dry through the dryer or in the air.

Do not tumble dry
Let this garment dry by another method.

Air dry
Let this garment air dry by hanging out on the line or laundry rack.

Low temperature
Dry this garment at a low temperature and on a short program.

Normal temperature
Dry this garment at a normal temperature with a normal program.

High temperature
Dry this garment at a high temperature with a long program.

No heat
Dry this gently without heat in the dryer.

Delicate drying program
Use a delicate drying program with low heat. Or let it air dry.

Good to know

• Cotton can shrink at high temperatures. Dry cotton on a low temperature in the tumble dryer.

• Wool can be tumble dried if the dryer has a special program for it. Does your dryer not have this? Let wool air dry.

Air drying symbols

Symbols for air drying can be recognized by the square with stripes.

Hang dry
Hang dry this garment indoors or outdoors.

Short tumble dry
Dry this garment briefly in the dryer and then let it air dry.

Flat dry
Lie down dry this garment on a flat surface.

Good to know

• Delicate fabrics such as silk are often not suitable for tumble drying. Is the care label missing? If in doubt, always air dry.

• Also, delicate fabrics such as wool, silk and cashmere are best dried lying down on a flat surface or hanging. A wool sweater just out of the washer is heavy. It is best to lay it out rather than hang it because this stretches the fabric.

Dry cleaning symbols

Symbols for steaming can be recognized by the circle.

Do dry clean
You can dry clean this garment.

Do not dry clean
You cannot dry clean this garment.

Any solvent
You can dry clean this garment with any solvent.

With perchloroethylene
This garment can be steamed with perchloroethylene or petroleum-based cleaners.

With petroleum
This garment can be steamed with petroleum-based cleaners.

Method not possible
This garment cannot be cleaned with this method.

Wet clean
This garment is only suitable for professional wet cleaning.

Wet clean delicate
This garment is only suitable for delicate professional wet cleaning.

Wet clean very delicate
This garment is only suitable for very delicate professional wet cleaning.

Bleach symbols

Symbols for bleaching can be recognized by the triangle.

Do bleach
This garment can be bleached in any way.

Do not bleach
You cannot bleach this garment. Use a good detergent and avoid detergents with whitening agents.

Do not bleach, old symbol
You cannot bleach this garment. You may encounter this version on old laundry labels.

Bleach without chlorine
You can only bleach this garment with a chlorine-free bleach.

Bleaching with chlorine
This garment can only be bleached with chlorine bleach.

Ironing symbols

Symbols for ironing are recognized by the iron.

Do iron
You can iron this garment.

Do not iron
You cannot iron this garment.

Ironing without steam
You cannot iron this garment with steam.

Ironing at 110 °C
You can iron this garment around 110°C or 230°F.

Ironing at 150 °C
You can iron this garment around 150°C or 300°F.

Ironing at 200 °C
You can iron this garment around 200°C or 390°F.