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What do the laundry symbols mean?

Laundry symbols, or care symbols, are icons which represent a wide variety of washing, drying and ironing methods, which are commonly found on clothing labels and tags. Their purpose is to instruct consumers on how a particular item of clothing should be cleaned, dried and ironed so as to avoid damage being caused to the fabric.

Because there are a variety of laundry symbols out there, it can get very confusing and it can be difficult to work out what each laundry symbol means without clarification. Luckily we have provided below a picture of the most important European laundry symbols and an explanation of what they represent, so that you are able to easily recognise them the next time you check the label on your clothing items.


Laundry symbol

Explanation


Machine wash normal


Machine wash permanent press


Machine wash gentle or delicate


Wash at or below 30°C


Wash at or below 40°C


Wash at or below 50°C


Wash at or below 60°C


Wash at or below 70°C


Wash at or below 95°C


Hand wash only


Do not wash


Iron at any temperature


Iron at a low temperature


Iron at a medium temperature


Iron at a high temperature


Do not iron


Chlorine and non-chlorine bleach allowed


Use non-chlorine bleach


Do not bleach


May be tumble dried


Tumble dry at a low temperature or delicate setting


Tumble dry at a normal temperature or setting


Tumble dry at a high temperature or setting


Line dry


Dry flat


Drip dry


Do not tumble dry


May be dry cleaned


Do not dry clean

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