Fabric Care Icons, Label & Hang Tag by BOXKAYU in Templates Cards Fabric Care Icons, Label and Hang Tag is an Illustrator, Photoshop and Indesign template for products fashion retailers or companies to provide your promotional products. To make the learning process even easier, the American Cleaning Institute has developed two teaching tools: Your Guide to Fabric Care Symbols and, for a short-cut to understanding the symbols, Fabric Care Language Made Easy! What do the Washing Symbols on Your Tags Mean? What do the Washing Symbols on Your Tags Mean? Decipher laundry care symbols with this handy, printable chart from Crane & Canopy. Make washing simple with this compilation of what those symbols mean. Bedding + Duvet Covers +. A handy, printable chart of the laundry care symbols on fabric tags and what they mean. Clothes washing symbols and their meanings.
Laundry symbols on clothes labels are there to help you. Every circle, triangle, and square has a meaning. Once you master the five basic symbols, you can become a laundry expert.
Do I Have to Follow the Symbols Exactly?
You've done laundry for years so you just ignore the labels. Have you ever had a T-shirt shrink so small it fits the dog? Have you ever had a silky blouse come out looking dull and covered with balls of fuzz?
Might be time to take a few seconds at look at the care symbols.
Most clothing manufacturers recommend the most conservative cleaning method to ensure the best results for the consumer. For instance, some fabrics that are labeled as dry clean can be hand washed. This is why it is important to note the fiber content of the fabric so you can make an informed laundry decision.
Laundry Care Symbols
The laundry symbols on clothing and linen labels provide important information on how to take care of your investment. The labels were developed as part of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Symbols, rather than words, were chosen to better convey information around the world. While there are variations in Europe and Asia, the basic shapes transcend continent borders.
Care labels are mandated by the government in the United States and many countries to identify the fiber content of the fabric and provide care instructions.
The international community uses five basic symbols for washing, drying, bleaching, ironing, and dry cleaning. Once you learn the basic shapes, interpreting the rest is pretty simple. One thing to keep in mind: an X through any symbol means 'Don't Do This'!
How to Wash Clothes Symbols
The washtub shape tells you how to wash, or not to wash, the garment. In the washtub is a Celsius water temperature or dots to indicate what water temperature you should use: one dot for cold, two dots for warm, and three dots for hot water.
The lines under the tub indicate what washing machine cycle to select: one for permanent press, two for gentle. If there is no line, you can use any washing machine cycle.
If the washtub has a hand reaching into the water, the garment should be hand washed. A twisted cloth (looks like a piece of hard candy) indicates that you should not wring the fabric. Instead, squeeze gently or wrap in a thick towel to absorb water.
How to Bleach Clothes Symbols
Symbols on how to bleach the clothing may not appear on every garment. But when you see the triangular shape, it will offer help on how to select a type of bleach.
- An X over a solid color triangle means Do Not Bleach at all.
- A triangle with two slanted lines means use a non-chlorine or oxygen-based bleach.
- A clear triangle means that any type of bleach can be used on the fabric.
Often a label will have no symbol but states 'No Chlorine Bleach'. If you see this, you can still use an oxygen-based bleach safely (OxiClean, OXO Brite or Nellie's Natural Oxygen Brightener are brand names) on all fabrics except wool, silk, and leather.
How to Dry Clothes Symbols
Excessive drying is one of the most damaging things we do to our laundry. International drying symbols help you select a dryer cycle and a temperature. The square drying symbol also helps you know how to dry clothes naturally or with a tumble dryer.
- Three vertical lines in the square indicate the clothes should be hung to drip dry rather than placed in the dryer.
- A curved line in the square means to line dry.
- Two slanted lines in the corner of the square mean to line dry in the shade away from harsh sunlight.
- A horizontal line in the center of the square means to dry the garment on a flat surface to prevent stretching.
- A circle in the square mean tumble dry. The dots will indicate heat levels: one dot for low, two dots for medium, three dots for high heat.
- The lines under the square indicate the type of cycle to use. No lines means you can use any tumble dry cycle, one line is for the permanent press cycle, and two lines are for the gentle cycle.
How to Iron Clothes Symbols
Look for the iron-shaped symbol to guide you as you select a temperature setting and whether to use a dry iron or steam.
Remember, the X means don't do it. An X through the steam coming from the bottom of the iron means use no steam.
- One dot: Low-temperature setting
- Two dots: Medium-temperature setting
- Three dots: High-temperature setting
How to Dry Clean Clothes Symbols
A dry clean only symbol can save you a great deal of heartache and money. There are also very specific dry cleaning symbols addressing cleaning chemicals and the type of cleaning cycle to use that your dry cleaner will understand.
Unless you are an expert at clothing care, always believe the dry clean only symbol. If the garment is not expensive and you're willing to take a chance, follow common guidelines to determine whether to dry clean or wash a garment.
If you decide to use a home dry cleaning kit, don't worry about the choice of chemicals. The kits use a provided universal stain remover that works for all fabrics.
A laundry symbol, also called a care symbol, is a pictogram which represents a method of washing, for example drying, dry-cleaning and ironingclothing. Such symbols are written on labels, known as care labels or care tags, attached to clothing to indicate how a particular item should best be cleaned. Standard symbols for these care labels differ by region. In some standards, pictograms coexist with or are complemented by written instructions.
The Canadian system was formerly based on colour: green for 'go ahead', yellow for 'be careful', and red for 'stop'. That system was abandoned in favour of a common North American scheme.[1]
Although there is an international standard that has been agreed by the ISO and within Europe by the EU, copyright laws make it difficult to publish these widely. However, there have been attempts to summarize the main national and international standards.[2]
- 1Europe
- 1.4Drying
- 1.6Professional cleaning
Europe[edit]
GINETEX, based in France, is the European association for textile care labelling, and formed in 1963 after academic conferences in the late 1950s were formed to define one standard of labelling.[citation needed]
Fabric Care Symbols Legend
General[edit]
The care label describes the allowable treatment of the garment without damaging the textile. Whether this treatment is necessary or sufficient, is not stated. A milder than specified treatment is always acceptable. The symbols are protected and their use is required to comply with the license conditions; incorrect labelling is prohibited. A bar below each symbol calls for a gentler treatment than usual and a double bar for a very gentle treatment.
Washing[edit]
A stylized washtub is shown, and the number in the tub means the maximum wash temperature (degrees Celsius). A bar under the tub signifies a gentler treatment in the washing machine. A double bar signifies very gentle handling. A hand in the tub signifies that only (gentle) hand washing (not above 40°C) is allowed. A cross through washtub means that the textile may not be washed under normal household conditions.
In the European standard, the level of wash agitation recommended is indicated by bars below the wash tub symbol. Absence of bar indicates a maximum agitation (cotton wash), a single bar indicates medium agitation (synthetics cycle) and a double bar indicates very minimal agitation (silk/wool cycle).[3] The bar symbols also indicate the level of spin recommended with more bars indicating lower preferred spin speed.[3]
Washing symbol
Wash at or below 30°C (USA, 1 dot, ●)
Wash at or below 40°C (USA, 2 dots, ●●)
Wash at or below 50°C (USA, 3 dots, ●●●)
Wash at or below 60°C (USA, 4 dots, ●●●●)
Hand wash
Do not wash
Bleaching[edit]
An empty triangle (formerly lettered Cl) allows the bleaching with chlorine or non-chlorine bleach. Two oblique lines in the triangle prohibit chlorine bleaching. A crossed triangle prohibits any bleaching.
Bleaching symbol (allowed for both chlorine and non-chlorine bleach)
Bleaching with chlorine allowed (obsolete)
Non-chlorine bleach when needed
Do not bleach
Do not bleach
Drying[edit]
A circle in the square symbolizes a clothes dryer. One dot requires drying at reduced temperature and two dots for normal temperature. The crossed symbol means that the clothing does not tolerate machine drying. In the U.S. and Japan, there are other icons for natural drying.
Tumble drying[edit]
Tumble drying symbol
Tumble drying (low temperature)
Tumble drying (normal)
Do not tumble dry
Natural drying[edit]
Fabric Care Symbols Garment
Drying symbol
Line dry
Dry flat
Drip dry
Dry in the shade
Line dry in the shade
Dry flat in shade
Drip dry in shade
Ironing[edit]
The iron with up to three dots allows for ironing. The number of dots are assigned temperatures: one prescribes 110°C, two for 150°C and three for 200°C. An iron with a cross prohibits ironing.
Ironing symbol
Iron at low temperature
Iron at medium temperature
Iron at high temperature
Do not iron
Professional cleaning[edit]
A circle identifies the possibilities of professional cleaning. A bar under the symbol means clean gently, and two bars means very gentle cleaning.
Chemical cleaning[edit]
The letters P and F in a circle are for the different solvents used in professional dry cleaning.
Professional cleaning symbol
Dry clean, hydrocarbon solvent only (HCS)
Gentle cleaning with hydrocarbon solvents
Very gentle cleaning with hydrocarbon solvents
Dry clean, tetrachloroethylene (PCE) only
Gentle cleaning with PCE
Very gentle cleaning with PCE
Do not dry clean
Wet cleaning[edit]
The letter W in a circle is for professional wet cleaning.
Professional wet cleaning
Gentle wet cleaning
Very gentle wet cleaning
Do not wet clean
References[edit]
- ^'Guide to Apparel and Textile Care Symbols'. IC.GC.ca. Office of Consumer Affairs.
- ^'Caring About the Consumers Beyond the Label'(PDF). Intertek.com. Intertek. 2014. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
- ^ ab'Care Symbols'. GINETEX.net. GINETEX. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
External links[edit]
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to Laundry symbols. |
- Laundry Guide to Common Care Symbols – Textile Industry Affairs
- Guide to Common Home Laundering & Drycleaning Symbols – Textile Industry Affairs