People have been warned that they could be laundering their clothes, sheets and towels incorrectly by neglecting to read the care labels on them. For many, scrutinising each individual label isn’t a routine task.
Instead, it’s more about tossing everything into the machine and hoping for the best. However, consumer experts from Which? have now clarified what each of these small, perplexing symbols mean – and how ignoring them can result in damage to your clothes.
There’s one symbol indicating that the item shouldn’t be washed at all, and another suggesting it should be kept well clear of any bleach-based stain removers. On TikTok, the experts started by explaining one of the most common signs – the one that resembles a bucket of water.
This indicates that the item can be machine washed, and sometimes there’s a number inside it too, which signifies the maximum temperature it should be washed at. Another similar symbol, resembling the bucket of water but with one solid line beneath it, means it should be washed on a synthetic cycle with a lower spin speed, reports the Express.
The same sign but with two lines underneath suggests it should be washed on a gentle or wool cycle. If the label features the bucket of water symbol with a cross through it, this means it shouldn’t be machine washed at all – not even on a delicate cycle.
The bucket of water with a hand in it signifies a hand-wash only situation. However, modern washing machines often have a hand-wash cycle, so it’s worth checking yours.
When it comes to cleaning your clothes, never use bleach on anything that has a label with a triangle crossed out. This indicates that bleach, including bleach-based stain removers like Napisan or Vanish, is off-limits.
The plain circle symbol means the item can only be dry-cleaned. As for the symbols related to drying your clothes, there are several important ones to note.
The most obvious is the square with a circle inside and a cross through it, which means the item should not be tumble dried – these items will need to be air-dried instead. The symbol that looks like a piece of fabric being twisted with a cross through it means you shouldn’t wring out the item to dry, as this could damage the fabric.