With so many symbols on laundry labels, it can be easier to simply place clothing in the machine without taking a look. However, this could result in clothes shrinking or letting colours run into each other. An expert at Beko plc UK & Ireland said: “Throwing a pile of laundry in your washing machine isn’t uncommon. We’ve all done a quick drum wash without looking to see what we’re putting inside, but this can damage your clothes.
“Spending an extra five minutes separating your laundry could make the difference between bright whites and red dye disasters. Everything you need to know about your clothes is on their labels. Knowing your symbols and clothing inside out can help you avoid laundry mishaps and keep your favourite clothes lasting longer.”
Washing
The washing symbol is often the first one you’ll see, and it looks like a bucket with water. Depending on what is inside that bucket, depends on the temperature needed to wash that item. The expert said: “If your symbol has spots rather than numbers, one dot means 30C, whereas six equals 95C.”
The washing symbol may include a hand, indicating hand-wash only, while a gross-through means the garment shouldn’t be washed. If you notice a line underneath this symbol, this means you can machine wash and permanently press, whereas two lines indicate machine wash on a delicate cycle.
Bleaching
There are four variations of bleaching which can appear on the care label, showing if you can bleach an item or not.
An empty triangle means you can bleach the item, and a triangle with a cross-through means you can’t. According to the pros, a triangle with two diagonal lines inside or a triangle with CL inside and a cross-through means you can use non-chlorine bleach.
Ironing
There are six variations of ironing on the label, with a simple iron demonstrating this. The experts said: “An iron symbol means you can iron the clothing, whilst an iron symbol with a cross through means they shouldn’t be ironed. You might also see an iron with a cross below it, which means you shouldn’t steam your item, but ironing without steam is fine.
“As with your washing symbol, your iron symbol can also indicate the heat you should use. One dot inside suggests a low temperature, two a medium, and three a high.”
Drying
The drying symbol looks like a square on the clothing tag, which is important if you want to know how to best dry laundry. An empty square means you can tumble dry on any heat, whilst a square with a cross means do not tumble dry.
A square with a circle in the middle with a cross, though it means not to tumble dry, whilst a square with a filled black circle means tumble dry with no heat. The experts added: “As with the wash symbol, a drying symbol with one line beneath it means a permanent press, while two lines indicate using a delicate cycle.”