Laundry Symbols Guide, Top 50 Washing Symbols +PDF

Laundry symbols, or care tags, come with a new garment to assist with helping to wash and care for the item you have bought. Don’t make the mistake of just throwing your clothes into the washing machine. Check the laundry tag symbols and lengthen the life of your clothing. Care labels and laundry icons will help you stop shrinking, color running, bunching, and creasing of fabrics. 

This tutorial will explain all the laundry symbols that you will find on the care labels of your clothing and fabric items.

What are Laundry Symbols?

Laundry symbols (also known as washing symbols or care symbols) are a set of standardized icons found on clothing tags. They provide clear instructions for washing, drying, ironing, and dry cleaning fabrics to prolong their life. These symbols are universally recognized, making them easy to identify and consistent among brands.

The number of laundry symbols used can vary slightly between countries but there are approximately 40-50 symbols commonly used.

How to Read Laundry Symbols

There are 5 main laundry symbol categories. These are:

1. Washing Symbols (wash tub): Indicate how to wash the garment.
2. Bleaching Symbols (triangle): Show whether bleaching is permissible.
3. Drying Symbols (square): Advice on tumble drying settings and line drying.
4. Ironing Symbols (iron): Specify the required ironing temperature.
5. Dry Cleaning Symbols (circle): Guidelines for professional dry cleaning.

There are some basic care label laundry symbols, and each of these has additional figures for temperature or cross-out marks to indicate a ‘do not’ command. Pay attention to washing instruction symbols because they will make all the difference to your clothing.

Here are the common laundry symbols and their meaning.

Printable PDF Laundry Symbols Chart

Here is a printable PDF you can keep in your laundry for a handy reference at any time.

Clothes Washing Laundry Symbols

More About Clothes Washing Icons

There is value in pre-washing any new fabric to check for color running. A quick dip into a basin of water at the temperature you plan to use for washing could help save the garment and the other pieces of fabric that may be in the same washing cycle. Once you know all the laundry symbols and get to know your fabrics, this will be an easy routine to follow.

Now you are familiar with the laundry tag symbols and the temperature values, additional knowledge of the washing machine options will help you get the best results. Washing machines will have a dial and a program to choose from. Here are different washing cycle options:

1. Normal – This is an all-around option used for cotton, linens, towels, and sheets not needing a heavy wash.
2. Delicate – As the name suggests, this is for items that are sensitive to a heavy-duty wash.  Delicates like silk, lingerie, hand wash items, and fabric needing a gentle wash will be best done on the delicate cycle.
3. Colors/Darks – Any fabric with dark colors or colors that may bleed from the fabric falls into this category.
4. Permanent Press – This cycle is best suited to synthetic fabrics. The gentle cycle preserves the wrinkle-free fabric and prevents crushing.  It is a good choice for office wear, dress shirts, silk, linen, and loose weave fabrics.
5. Brilliant Whites – A strong cycle that you can add bleach to if necessary. It washes all your whites, especially t-shirts, linen, undies, and tableware.
6. Heavy-Duty – This cycle takes large loads of soiled items like blankets, comforters, and rugs. It is a good idea not to overload this cycle. The items are heavy, and the washing needs to be able to turn in the machine and get washed effectively.
7. Fast Cycle – This cycle is also known as quick or super speed. It is best suited to lightly soiled items. The fast cycle gives garments and soft fabrics a quick, light wash.
8. Spin – The spin setting is not a wash setting, but is there to drain off excess water should there be a need for further draining of moisture.  A hand-washed item can be popped into the spin cycle to drain off excess water too.

Water Temperature Laundry Symbols

The different temperature laundry symbols refer to machine washing. A hand wash symbol will have the hand in the symbolic tub, and no given temperature, and a do not wash will have a tub crossed out. 

Why is the temperature of water important for laundry? The temperature of the water affects not only the fabric but also the detergent in different ways.  Since the detergent is actually made of chemicals, it can have reactions to different heat values.

These are the common temperatures used in washing cycles from 30⁰  to 90⁰ Celsius. The care instructions may have a degree indicated, or it may use a number of dots instead.

Temperature	Dots	Description
30°C (80°F)	Single Dot	Suitable for wools, silks, strongly dyed fabrics, and fabrics prone to shrinking. Ideal for cold washes, preserving dark colors and elasticity.
40°C (105°F)	Two Dots	Warm wash setting for everyday clothing.
50°C (120°F)	Three Dots	Best for cottons and linens.
60°C (140°F)	Four Dots	Used for washing bed linens and towels. Suitable for slightly heavier wash requirements.
70°C (158°F)	Five Dots	Hot water setting for cotton and stained fabrics.
95°C (200°F)	Six Dots	The hottest setting, ideal for washing whites and removing tough stains from linen and cotton. Use with caution to avoid fabric damage. Not cost-effective due to high power consumption.

Bleaching Laundry Symbols

Triangles are used for bleaching laundry symbols. Bleach can damage some fibers and cause fading or streaking in colored clothing. Your care label may just have the bleach basic symbols, or it may state the kind of bleach to use.

1. BLEACH IF NEEDED – An empty triangle shows bleach is allowed.
2. DO NOT BLEACH – A triangle with a cross means no bleaching.
3. NON-CHLORINE BLEACH – The triangle with two diagonal lines in the corner indicates that a non-chlorine bleach is suitable.
4. NON-CHLORINE BLEACH – A triangle with CL crossed out means non-chlorine bleach.

Drying Laundry Symbols

Squares are used for drying laundry symbols and represent your tumble dryer. Many dryer symbols have circles inside.

1. TUMBLE DRY – A square with one circle with no marks inside indicates tumble drying is permitted. This is usually for natural fibers that won’t shrink or fade with heat.
2. DO NOT TUMBLE DRY – A square with one circle and a cross means do not tumble dry. Instead, air dry either on a line or flat in the shade according to further instructions.
3. LOW-HEAT TUMBLE DRY – A square with one circle and one dot in the middle means tumble dry on low heat.
4. MEDIUM-HEAT TUMBLE DRY – A square with one circle and two dots in the middle means tumble dry on medium heat.
5. HIGH-HEAT TUMBLE DRY – A square with one circle and three dots in the middle indicates a high heat for tumble drying.
6. NO HEAT – A square with a solid circle indicates to dry normally with no heat. Synthetics and delicate fabrics will often have this symbol.
7. HANG TO DRY – A square with a curved line indicates you should dry the item on a line hanging up.
8. DRIP DRY – A square with three straight vertical lines in the symbol tells you to drip dry that item.
9. DRY FLAT – A square with a single vertical line in the center is indicating the item should be dried on a flat surface. This is common for sweaters which may stretch out of shape if they are dried on a line.
10. DRY IN SHADE – A square with 2 diagonal lines in the top corner means dry in the shade. This is for items that may fade when exposed to sunlight.
11. DO NOT DRY – A square with a cross through the item means do not dry. This is rarely used.

Ironing Laundry Symbols

An iron laundry symbol indicates some ironing is required. It will additionally offer you extra information, such as the iron temperature and whether you can use steam.

1. DO NOT IRON – An iron with a cross over the iron means no ironing is recommended. This is common for synthetic fabrics, which may melt with the heat.
2. MAX TEMP 110 – An iron with one dot means a cool iron with a maximum temperature of 110⁰C (230F).
3. MAX TEMP 150 – An iron with two and three dots goes up in temperature from 150^o C (300F) to a maximum of 200^oC (390F).  This is for medium to hot irons. Hotter temperatures are used for natural fibers such as cotton and linen.
4. DO NOT STEAM – An iron with two lines pointing out from under the iron and a cross over them indicates no steam is allowed. Steam can water damage some fabrics, such as silk.

Dry Cleaning Laundry Symbols

Dry cleaning laundry symbols are indicated by circles. Some fabrics, such as leather, can’t be washed, and the item will need to go to the dry cleaner.

1. DRY CLEAN ONLY – A circle with no laundry symbol indicates dry clean only. This is for items that are delicate and may be damaged by hand or machine washing.
2. DO NOT DRY CLEAN – A circle with a cross over the entire circle means do not dry clean. Some fabrics can be damaged by the solvents and chemicals used in dry cleaning.
3. SOLVENTS – Circles with letter laundry symbols indicate different dry cleaning solvents could be used. A – any solvent can be used. P – any solvent except Trichloroethylene can be used. F – petroleum solvents only should be used.
4. SHORT CYCLE – A circle with a short, straight line at the bottom left side indicates a short cycle should be used to dry clean.
5. REDUCED MOISTURE – A circle with a short straight line at the top right side means dry cleaning should be done with reduced moisture.
6. LOW HEAT – A circle with a straight line at the bottom right means low heat must be used.
7. NO STEAM – A circle with a short line at the top left side is a sign that no steam is allowed.

Laundry Symbol FAQs

Laundry Symbols – In Conclusion

Armed with all this information, you should be able to launder any item of clothing or the fabrics you buy. Laundry symbols, washing symbols, and care label symbols just help create a good relationship between you and your beautifully made clothing. Caring for clothing makes sound economic sense.

More Fabric Care Articles

• TUMBLE DRY – How to Tumble Dry Correctly
• How to Clean an Iron – The Right Way