Whether you’re a full-time mom with three kids or a first-year college student in a dorm room, clothing care can be intimidating. But it doesn’t have to be. Did you know the instructions for washing and drying are attached to your clothes? If you can read, your laundry can be Snuggly® Soft.
Often referred to as the laundry care label, each tag has clothing care symbols printed on it. Clothes without a tag typically have the symbols printed directly on the fabric. The label can be easily overlooked, but it is essential to a proper laundry regime. You’ll create more cozy moments in your home when you do your laundry the right way.
The laundry care label is an industry standard enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The symbols are conveniently printed on the label in the same order every time, making them easy to understand.
Laundry care labels are a one-stop shop. It tells you whether an article of clothing is machine washable, the correct temperature, and more. Because of the FTC guidelines, if you can read one laundry care label, you can read them all. Each label has five care sections: washing, bleaching, drying, ironing, and warnings.
The wash tub is the first icon on the care label with basic care instructions. It might show degree numbers and temperature recommendations to indicate the highest temperature the garment can withstand. If the wash tub contains dots, the dots correlate to temperature recommendations.
- One dot 65°F to 85°F (30°C)
- Two dots 105°F (40°C)
- Three dots 120°F (50°C)
- Four dots 140°F (60°C)
- Five dots 160°F (70°C)
- Six dots 200°F (95°C)
A line under the tub on the care label means the garment must be washed on a permanent press cycle. If there are two lines, the article of clothing should be washed in a delicate or gentle setting. A hand in the wash tub indicates the item must be hand-washed. It can't be washed if you see an “X” in the tub.
The triangle occupies the second slot on the laundry care tag. It indicates whether or not an item of clothing can be bleached. You can bleach the garment if the triangle is empty. If the triangle contains two parallel diagonal lines, bleaching should only be done with oxygen. An “X” inside the triangle means it can’t be bleached.
The third symbol on the laundry care label is a square indicating how the product should be dried. Tumble drying is allowed if there’s a circle inside the square. Dots within the circle on the square icon are heat recommendations. One dot is low heat, two dots are medium heat, and three dots mean you can use the high heat setting.
Multiple variations are available for the square dryer icon. You should use a gentle dryer setting if you see a fourth dot. An “X” means the item should not be machine-dried. Additionally, the dryer may have lines through it.
- Three Vertical Lines: “drip-dry” or hang-dry
- One Horizontal Line: dry on a flat surface
- Two Left-Justified Diagonal Lines: dry in the shade away from sunlight
The iron is the most straightforward symbol on the laundry care tag. An empty iron means you can iron the garment, and an “X” through the iron means you cannot iron the garment. Dots inside the iron are temperature guidance, much like the other symbols.
An empty circle on the laundry care label indicates the garment may require dry cleaning. There may be additional symbols, including:
- A: The textile can handle any solvent
- P: The textile can only tolerate hydrocarbons or perchloroethylene
- F: The textile should only be cleaned with hydrocarbons.
Now that you know these symbols and can interpret what the laundry codes mean, you are ready to increase the lifetime of your clothes and other laundry items. Follow the instructions on your laundry care label to infuse the cozy comforts of home into your laundry routine.
