How to Read Clothing Care Labels: Washing, Drying and Ironing Symbols
A plain-English guide to the washing, bleaching, drying, ironing and dry-cleaning symbols on clothing care labels, and what each one means.
Key takeaways
- Care labels use five basic symbols: a wash tub, a triangle, a square, an iron and a circle.
- A cross through any symbol means do not do that.
- More dots or bars usually mean higher heat, or the opposite for bars, which signal gentler treatment.
Care labels look like a code, but they follow a consistent system. The symbols are standardised internationally, with regional systems that use very similar shapes, so a label from one country is generally readable in another. Once you know the five basic shapes, you can decode almost any label.
The five basic symbols
| Shape | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Wash tub | Washing, by machine or by hand |
| Triangle | Bleaching |
| Square | Drying, including tumble drying |
| Iron | Ironing and steaming |
| Circle | Professional dry cleaning or wet cleaning |
Washing symbols
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| Tub with a number | Maximum wash temperature in degrees Celsius, such as 30 or 40 |
| Tub with dots | Temperature shown by dots in some systems. Fewer dots mean a cooler wash |
| Tub with a hand | Hand wash only |
| Tub with one bar underneath | Use a reduced, gentler cycle |
| Tub with two bars underneath | Use a very gentle cycle |
| Crossed tub | Do not wash |
Bleaching symbols
- Empty triangle: any bleach may be used.
- Triangle with two diagonal lines: use non-chlorine bleach only.
- Crossed triangle: do not bleach.
Drying symbols
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| Square with a circle inside | Tumble drying is allowed. Dots inside the circle show the heat level, where fewer dots mean lower heat |
| Square with a filled circle | Tumble dry with no heat |
| Crossed square with circle | Do not tumble dry |
| Square with a curved line at the top | Line dry |
| Square with three vertical lines | Drip dry |
| Square with one horizontal line | Dry flat |
Ironing symbols
- One dot: low heat, up to about 110 degrees Celsius, for delicate synthetics.
- Two dots: medium heat, up to about 150 degrees Celsius, for wool and silk.
- Three dots: high heat, up to about 200 degrees Celsius, for cotton and linen.
- Crossed iron: do not iron.
- Iron with crossed steam lines: do not use steam.
Professional cleaning symbols
An empty circle means the garment can be dry cleaned. A letter inside the circle, such as P or F, tells the cleaner which type of solvent is safe. A W in a circle indicates professional wet cleaning. A crossed circle means do not dry clean.
Tips for using care labels
- A care label describes a method that will not damage the garment. It is a safe instruction, not the only possible one.
- When a label has faded or been removed, treat the garment by its fibre. Wash cotton and polyester normally, and wash wool and silk gently by hand.
- Group laundry by the lowest temperature on any label in the load.
- Test any stain remover on a hidden seam first.
