Laundry care symbols help you properly care for your clothing and extend their lifespan. These icons, often found on garment care labels, tell you how to wash, dry, iron, and treat your clothes safely. Here's a quick guide to what the most common laundry care symbols mean:

Dry Cleaning Symbols

A circle represents dry cleaning. The letters inside the circle show which solvent to use:

• A: Any solvent

• P: Perchloroethylene (stronger chemical)

• F: Hydrocarbon solvent (a more environmentally friendly option)

Bars under the circle indicate the gentleness required:

• No bar: Normal process

• One bar: Mild cleaning

• Two bars: Very mild cleaning

Ironing Symbols

An iron symbol with dots inside it tells you the recommended temperature:

• 1 dot: Cool iron (max 110°C) – ideal for silk or wool

• 2 dots: Warm iron (max 150°C) – for synthetics

• 3 dots: Hot iron (max 200°C) – for cotton or linen
  A crossed-out iron means do not iron.

If there are no dots, iron at any temperature.

Tumble Dry Symbols

A square with a circle inside indicates tumble drying is allowed:

• No dots: Any temperature

• 1 dot: Low heat

• 2 dots: Medium heat

• 3 dots: High heat
  A crossed-out icon means do not tumble dry.

A box with a circle inside and no dots, means that you can tumble dry your items at any temperature.

Other Drying Symbols

• A square with a horizontal line: Dry flat

• A square with vertical lines: Drip dry
  These symbols suggest air drying methods best suited to delicate fabrics.

Hand Wash Symbols

A twisted symbol indicates that your item can be wrung, whereas a cross over the twisted symbol means that you should not wring the item.

• A tub with a hand indicates hand wash only, or use the delicate cycle at max 40°C.  This gentle wash is to prevent shrinkage or snagging of the garment. Typical items in this category include cashmere and silk.
• A twisted symbol means the garment can be wrung; if crossed out, do not wring.

Machine Wash Symbols

A washtub symbol shows machine wash suitability, at maximum action with a normal spin:

• Dots inside: Water temperature (1 dot = 30°C, 2 dots = 40°C)

The washtub symbols with numbers inside indicating the maximum water temperature as displayed.

• Numbers inside: Exact max temperature

The number of bars displayed under the tub icon indicate how gentle the clothes should be washed.

• No bar: Normal wash

• 1 bar: Gentle wash (for single bar, the machine should apply a mild spin)

• 2 bars: Very delicate wash (for double bar, a very delicate machine action and spin)

Bleaching Symbols

A triangle icon indicates that any bleaching agent can be applied if needed. 

• Triangle: Any bleach is safe

• Triangle with lines or CL crossed out: Use non-chlorine bleach only

• Crossed triangle: Do not bleach

General Laundry Care Tips (Do’s & Don’ts)

Although laundry care symbols guide the basics, here are some sustainable laundry habits to keep your clothes in great condition and reduce environmental impact:

• Wash like-colours together
• Wash gently and inside-out where possible
• Wash items with metal parts (e.g. zippers that stick out) in a mesh laundry bag to avoid snagging
• If you must iron the clothes, do it with water spray. As fabric materials have different heat tolerance levels dry overheating may damage the clothes, and
• Fold clothes along the seams to maintain the shape of the item
• It is recommended to wash items in low temperature or cold water, where appropriate, to save time and up to 80% of your energy costs for washing
• Hang your clothes out to dry if possible to save energy
• Use natural eco-friendly detergents, bleaches and softeners without toxins from sodium lauryl sulphate and brightening agents, which are also skin irritants
• Wash as little as hygienically possible so as to minimise the pollutants from cleaning agent and microfibre particles that wash out to our waterways, and ultimately rivers and oceans
• Use low-water settings on your machine, and make a front-loading washing machine the preferred option when you purchase your next washing machines, as they use considerably less energy and water in cleaning your clothes.

There is not a universal rule on how to care for your clothes, as this would largely depend on the types of material of which the individual pieces are made, and so you should always refer to the care labels attached.

Always refer to your garment's care label and these laundry care symbols to help your wardrobe last longer and lessen your footprint.