Laundry symbols: how to read a care label

Read the care label before the first wash, and never give an item more heat than the label allows.

Laundry care symbols. The shape tells you the step (tub for washing, triangle for bleach, square for the dryer, iron, circle for dry cleaning), dots show how hot, and an X means do not. — **Fig. 8.6** The shape tells you the step (tub for washing, triangle for bleach, square for the dryer, iron, circle for dry cleaning), dots show how hot, and an X means do not. Source: FTC Care Labeling Rule (ASTM D5489); Government of Canada care symbols guide.

Area: HomeFrom age 12Time to learn: 20 minutes

On a care label, the tub means wash, the triangle bleach, the square dry, the iron ironing and the circle dry cleaning; dots mean heat, lines underneath mean a gentler cycle, and an X means do not.

Why it matters

In the US, the Federal Trade Commission's Care Labeling Rule requires clothing labels to give a washing or dry-cleaning instruction, and makers may use standard laundry care symbols in place of words. In Canada, care labels are voluntary, but any care information given must be accurate, and the symbols are harmonized with US and international ones. The label is the maker's statement of the most heat, agitation and bleach the fabric can take. Five shapes and three marks cover what most laundry symbols mean.

How to do it

Find the care label, usually sewn into a side seam or the neck. Look for five shapes: a tub for washing, a triangle for bleaching, a square for drying, an iron for ironing and a circle for dry cleaning.
Read the dots in the tub as the hottest water allowed: one dot is cool, up to 30°C (86°F); two dots are warm, up to 40°C (104°F); three dots are hot, up to 50°C (122°F). Four, five and six dots (60, 70 and 95°C) are rare on clothing. Some labels, especially in Canada, print the temperature in degrees Celsius inside the tub instead. A hand in the tub means hand wash; a tub with an X means do not wash.
If a US label gives the temperature in words, the FTC defines cold as up to 86°F (30°C), warm as 87 to 111°F (31 to 44°C) and hot as 112 to 145°F (45 to 63°C).
Read the lines under the tub as the cycle. No line is the normal cycle, one line is permanent press, and two lines are the delicate or gentle cycle.
Read the triangle. An empty triangle means any bleach may be used when needed. A triangle with diagonal lines inside means only non-chlorine bleach. A triangle with an X means do not bleach.
Read a circle inside a square as tumble dry. Dots give the heat: one is low, two is medium, three is high; a filled black circle means no heat, and an empty circle means any heat. Lines underneath give the cycle, as with washing. An X means do not tumble dry.
Read a square with no circle as air drying. A curved line across the top means line dry or hang to dry; three vertical lines mean drip dry; one horizontal line means dry flat; diagonal lines in the corner mean dry in the shade.
Read the dots on the iron the same way: one is low, two is medium, three is high. Crossed-out lines under the iron mean no steam; an iron with an X means do not iron.
Read a plain circle as dry clean, and a circle with an X as do not dry clean.
If a US label in words gives no temperature, the FTC rule allows the full setting: for machine wash, hot water up to 145°F (63°C); for tumble dry, a hot setting; for iron, the highest setting.

Common mistakes

Reading more dots as better. More dots mean more heat is allowed, not that it is needed.
Tumble drying an item marked dry flat, such as a sweater.
Using chlorine bleach on an item marked only non-chlorine bleach.
Assuming every label uses the same system. Labels made for Canada, Europe and elsewhere may show a Celsius number inside the tub, and some international symbols differ from US ones; when in doubt, follow the words on the label.

You can do this when …you can pick any five items from your closet and say, from the label alone, the water temperature, cycle, bleach, drying method and iron setting for each.