Understanding Wash Care Labels

Ever wondered why fabrics and garments lose their freshness and colour with time? Different fabrics have different requirements and they need to be taken good care of in order to maintain their durability and freshness. That being said, it is important to understand the instructions and symbols provided on the label in garments. We know it can be confusing when you see tons of wash care symbols on garments, so here’s a complete guide on what different symbols mean.

• The symbol with a tub of water indicates that the garment can be machine washed.
• The symbol with cross on a tub of water says, do not wash.
• The symbol with a single bar underneath the tub
• Indicates, machine wash and permanent press, i.e. the fabric need not be ironed.
• The symbol with two bars underneath the tub indicates machine wash and delicate fabric.
• The symbol with a dot in the water tub says, machine wash in cold water.
• The symbol with two dots in the water tub says, machine wash in warm water.
• The symbol with three dots in the water tub says, machine wash in hot water.
• The symbol with hand in the tub suggests, hand wash the cloth.
• The symbol with 30 written in the tub indicates, machine wash in cold water (temp. 3⁰⁰C).
• The symbol with a bar underneath the tub with 30 written inside says, machine wash in cold water (temp.3⁰⁰C), permanent press.
• The symbol with 50 written in the tub indicates, machine wash in water temp. 5⁰⁰C.
• The symbol with 60 written in the tub indicates, machine wash in water temp. 6⁰⁰C.
• The symbol with 95 written in the tub indicates, machine wash in water temp. 9⁵⁰C.
• The twisted symbol says, clothing can be wrung.The crossed twisted symbol says, clothing shall not be wrung.

• The symbol with A inside a circle says, dry clean in any solvent.
• The symbol with P inside a circle says, dry clean in any solvent except trichloroethylene.
• The symbol with F inside a circle says, dry clean in petroleum only.
• The symbol with a bar underneath P circle says, dry clean in any solvent except trichloroethylene, delicate fabric.
• The symbol with a bar underneath the F circle says, dry clean in petroleum only, delicate fabric.
• The triangle symbol means bleach.
• The crossed triangle symbol means, do not bleach.
• The crossed circle symbol means, do not dry clean.
• The symbol with two bars underneath F says, dry clean in petroleum only, very delicate fabric.
• The symbol with W inside a circle says, wet clean.
• The symbol with a bar underneath W circle says, wet clean, delicate fabric.
• The symbol with two bars underneath the W circle says, wet clean, very delicate fabric.
• The symbol with two bars underneath P circle says, dry clean in any solvent except trichloroethylene, very delicate fabric.
• The symbol with a filled circle crossed says, do not wet clean.

• The square symbol implies, natural dry.
• The crossed square symbol implies, do not dry.
• The semi circle inside a square symbol implies, line dry.
• The horizontal bar inside the square symbol implies, dry flat.
• The 3 vertical bars inside the square symbol implies, drip dry.
• The circle inside the square symbol implies, tumble dry, normal.
• The crossed circle inside the square symbol implies, do not tumble dry.
• The 2 dots in the circle inside the square symbol implies tumble dry in medium temperature.
• The 3 dots in the circle inside the square symbol implies tumble dry in high temperature.
• The dot in the circle symbol implies tumble dry in low temperature.
• The square with two lines on the upper left corner symbol means, in shade. This symbol can be added to any other drying symbol.

• The iron inside circle symbol indicates, dry clean and iron the cloth.
• The iron symbol means, iron the cloth.
• The crossed iron symbol means, do not iron.
• The iron with a dot symbol means iron at low temperature.
• The iron with 2 dots symbol means, iron at medium temperature.
• The iron with 3 dots symbol means, iron at high temperature.
• The two crossed lines underneath the iron symbol means, do not steam.