You will find these labels inside your garment, the so called laundry care label symbols. They are here to help you decide how to look after each article of clothing properly. Laundry symbols (care symbols) advice on how to wash, bleach, dry, thumble-dry, or iron the garment. In the table below you will find US care symbols but they can be useful to virtually any visitor from any country in the world because there is a trend toward unification of the laundry and care symbols.
Labels Washing | Meaning |
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Hand wash only. Do not machine wash as the materials as silk, wool, acrilic are sensitive to rinsing and other mechanical action. |
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Macine wash at cold temperature- 30°C . Silk and acetate clothes with bleaching colors at 40°C are machine washed at 30°C with short spin |
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Wool and woolen mixes, blankets and futter should be washed at 40ºC. Color cotton, linen, and rayon should be washed at 40º C because their color are fast at this temperature. |
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Three black dots refers to 60º C. This temperature is suitable or mashine washing of cotton, linen and rayon item which are both colour fast. Higher temperature can be used only for white cotton and linen. |
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Machine wash permanent press cycle. This is suitable for garment that does not wrinkle and hold its shape |
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The gentle cycle of your washing machine is used for fine fabrics such as wool so friction is less severe. In the case of wool, washing in the gentle cycle will limit the compression and shrinkage. |
Labels Bleaching | Meaning |
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This sign means do no bleach. For example wool cannot be bleached. |
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The garment with this symbol can be chlorine bleached (any bleach). Cotton, linen, and acrylic fiber can be chlorine bleached. |
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Non chlorine bleach as needed. Since chlorine bleaches react with the protein of animal fibers, silk and wool are commonly bleached with hydrogen peroxide |
Labels Tumble-Drying | Meaning |
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Tumble dry no heat, cold |
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Tumble dry low temperature settings |
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Tumble dry moderate (medium) temperature settings |
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Tumble dry high temperature settings |
Labels Ironing | Meaning |
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Do not iron or press with heat. Some synthetic fibers such as nylon melt easily |
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Set the iron at the lowest setting, synthetic fibers such as polyester, rayon require ironing at low temperature |
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Set the iron to the second setting. Natural fibres silk and wool are ironed at medium temperature |
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Set the iron at a hot setting. Suitable for cotton and linen garment only |
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Iron or press withot steam |
Labels Drying | Meaning |
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This label means to hang the garment up to dry |
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Dry flat labels advice to lay the garment on a flat surface |
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Hang wet, and allow to dry with hand-shaping only |
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Do not expose to direct sunlight. Useful for all types of garment drying outdoor especially running colors |
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The garment can be dry-cleaned |
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Refers to no dry- cleaning materials Use recommended care instructions only |