Laundry Labels – What do they mean?

Evolution of Laundry Labels

Laundry labels have evolved in such a manner that complex instructions for the maintenance of clothes can be compacted into easily recognizable symbols. On a small label, many such symbols can be placed, easily allowing one who is familiar with such things to understand what sort of washing the piece of clothing can be subjected to.

At one time, the Canadian laundry labels were widely in use. However, they required the use of color with red and green meaning different things. Nowadays, many systems are in use and in this article, we look at the symbols used in the United States.

Explanation of two Symbols

Understanding Laundry Labels

Laundry labels always show the maximum allowed treatment.  This requires an understanding of gradations of washing. For example, cold water washing is more gentle than hot water washing. And drying clothes on a clothesline is always more gentle than tumble drying. This means that any directions indicated on a label, don’t preclude a gentler treatment. You can always use water colder than what is mentioned.

Dots indicate Temperature

The more dots you see in a diagram, the hotter the water can be. If there are no dots, then the clothing can handle the hottest temperature available. As a general rule, 4 dots is 60 degrees C, 5 dots is 70 C and 6 dots is 95 C

Lines underneath indicate wash cycle instructions

When you see one or two lines underneath the bucket, it means that you should use a particular type of cyle in your washing machine. A single line means that you should use the permanent press cycle to keep the garment intact. A double line indicates the “gentle” cycle. If you see a hand in the bucket, it means you need to hand wash. As always, remember that you can always “underwash” if you want to, but not overwash.

Summary

These are the primary two symbols used in washing. They can be combined with each other (dots and lines) or they can be shown separately. Further symbols relate to bleaching instructions, drying, ironing and dry cleaning.