A laundry symbol, also called a care symbol, is a

pictogram A pictogram, also called a pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto, and in computer usage an icon, is a graphic symbol that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictographs are often used in writing and ...

indicating the manufacturer's suggestions as to methods of

washing Washing is a method of cleaning, usually with water and soap or detergent. Washing and then rinsing both body and clothing is an essential part of good hygiene and health. Often people use soaps and detergents to assist in the emulsification o ...

, drying, dry-cleaning and

ironing Ironing is the use of a machine, usually a heated tool (an iron), to remove wrinkles and unwanted creases from fabric. The heating is commonly done to a temperature of 180–220 °Celsius (356-428 Fahrenheit), depending on the fabric. Ironing wor ...

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...

. 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. While there are internationally recognized standards for the care labels and pictograms, their exact use and form differ by region. In some standards, pictograms coexist with or are complemented by written instructions.

Standards

GINETEX The (GINETEX) is the international association for textile care labeling, based in Clichy, France. GINETEX relies on 22 national members in 23 nations spanning Europe, South America, Africa, and Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most n ...

, the France-based European association for textile care labelling, was formed in 1963 in part to define international standards for the care and labelling of textiles. By the early 1970s, GINETEX was working with

ISO ISO is the most common abbreviation for the International Organization for Standardization. ISO or Iso may also refer to: Business and finance * Iso (supermarket), a chain of Danish supermarkets incorporated into the SuperBest chain in 2007 * Iso ...

to develop international standards for textile labelling, eventually leading to the ISO 3758 standard, ''Textiles – Care labelling code using symbols''. ISO 3758 was supplemented in 1993, revised in 2005 and again in 2012 with reviews of the standard held on a five-year cycle. In North America, the Standards Council of Canada in 1987 adopted CAN/CGSB-86.1-M87, a colour-based textile care labelling system where green indicated "go ahead", yellow "be careful", and red "stop". In 2003, this system was withdrawn in favor of a pictogram-based system harmonized with North American and international standards. In 1996,

ASTM International ASTM International, formerly known as American Society for Testing and Materials, is an international standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, ...

published a system of pictorial care instructions as D5489 ''Standard Guide for Care Symbols for Care Instructions on Textile Products'' with revisions in 1998, 2001, 2007, 2014, and 2018. American Cleaning institute developed and published their guide to fabric care symbols. Additional textile care labelling systems have been developed for Australia, China, and Japan. Worldwide, all of these systems tend to use similar pictograms or labelling to convey laundry care instructions. , the pictograms are not encoded in

Unicode Unicode, formally The Unicode Standard,The formal version reference is is an information technology standard for the consistent encoding, representation, and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems. The standard, wh ...

standards, because these symbols are not in public domain across various countries and are copyright.

Pictograms

General

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

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 washing machine (laundry machine, clothes washer, washer, or simply wash) is a home appliance used to wash laundry. The term is mostly applied to machines that use water as opposed to dry cleaning (which uses alternative cleaning fluids and ...

. 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 North American standard, dots are used to indicate the proper temperature range. 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). The bar symbols also indicate the level of spin recommended with more bars indicating lower preferred spin speed. File:Waschen.svg, Washing symbol File:Waschen 30.svg, Wash at or below 30 °C (US, 1 dot, ●) File:Waschen 40.svg, Wash at or below 40 °C (US, 2 dots, ●●) File:Waschen 50.svg, Wash at or below 50 °C (US, 3 dots, ●●●) File:Waschen 60.svg, Wash at or below 60 °C (US, 4 dots, ●●●●) File:Handwäsche.svg, Hand wash File:Nicht waschen.svg, Do not wash

Bleaching

An empty ''triangle'' (formerly lettered Cl) allows the bleaching with

chlorine Chlorine is a chemical element with the symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate between them. Chlorine i ...

or non-chlorine bleach. Two oblique lines in the triangle prohibit chlorine bleaching. A crossed triangle prohibits any bleaching. File:Bleichen.svg, Bleaching symbol (allowed for both chlorine and non-chlorine bleach) File:Bleichen mit chlor.svg, Bleaching with chlorine allowed (obsolete) File:Sauerstoffbleichen.svg, Non-chlorine bleach when needed File:Nicht bleichen v2.svg, Do not bleach File:Nicht bleichen.svg, Do not bleach

Drying

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/line drying.

Tumble drying

File:Trommeltrocknen.svg, Tumble drying symbol File:Trommeltrocknen 1.svg, Tumble drying (low temperature) File:Trommeltrocknen 2.svg, Tumble drying (normal) File:Nicht trommeltrocknen.svg, Do not tumble dry

Natural drying

File:Trocknen.svg, Drying symbol File:Trocknen (leine).svg, Line dry File:Trocknen (liegend).svg, Dry flat File:Trocknen (tropfnass).svg, Drip dry File:Trocknen (schatten).svg, Dry in the shade File:Trocknen (leine im schatten).svg, Line dry in the shade File:Trocknen (liegend im schatten).svg, Dry flat in shade File:Trocknen (tropfnass im schatten).svg, Drip dry in shade

Ironing

The ''iron'' with up to three dots allows for

. 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. File:Bügeln.svg, Ironing symbol File:Bügeln 1.svg, Iron at low temperature File:Bügeln 2.svg, Iron at medium temperature File:Bügeln 3.svg, Iron at high temperature File:Nicht bügeln.svg, Do not iron

Professional cleaning

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

The letters P and F in a circle are for the different

solvent A solvent (s) (from the Latin '' solvō'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas, or a supercritical fluid. Water is a solvent for ...

s used in professional

dry cleaning Dry cleaning is any cleaning process for clothing and textiles using a solvent other than water. Dry cleaning still involves liquid, but clothes are instead soaked in a water-free liquid solvent. Tetrachloroethylene (perchloroethylene), known i ...

. File:Professionelle_reinigung.svg, Professional cleaning symbol File:Professionelle reinigung (F).svg, Dry clean, hydrocarbon solvent only (HCS) File:Professionelle reinigung (F)s.svg, Gentle cleaning with hydrocarbon solvents File:Professionelle reinigung (F)ss.svg, Very gentle cleaning with hydrocarbon solvents File:Professionelle reinigung (P).svg, Dry clean,

tetrachloroethylene Tetrachloroethylene, also known under the systematic name tetrachloroethene, or perchloroethylene, and many other names (and abbreviations such as "perc" or "PERC", and "PCE"), is a chlorocarbon with the formula Cl2C=CCl2 . It is a colorless li ...

(PCE) only File:Professionelle reinigung (P)s.svg, Gentle cleaning with PCE File:Professionelle reinigung (P)ss.svg, Very gentle cleaning with PCE File:Nicht chemisch reinigen.svg, Do not chemical clean

Wet cleaning

The letter W in a circle is for professional

wet cleaning Wet cleaning refers to methods of professional cleaning that, in contrast to traditional dry cleaning, avoids the use of chemical solvents, the most common of which is tetrachloroethylene (commonly called perchloroethylene or "perc"). Environment ...

. File:Professionelle reinigung (W).svg, Professional wet cleaning File:Professionelle reinigung (W)s.svg, Gentle wet cleaning File:Professionelle reinigung (W)ss.svg, Very gentle wet cleaning File:Nicht nassreinigen.svg, Do not wet clean

References

External links

GINETEX: The International Association for Textile Care Labelling-Care Symbols

* ttp://www.care-labelling.co.uk/whatsymbolsmean.html Home Laundering Consultative Council — What Symbols Mean
The revised Canadian standard

Swedish care symbols

US, Japanese, and UK woven washing label symbols

Laundry Guide to Common Care Symbols
— Textile Industry Affairs
Guide to Common Home Laundering & Drycleaning Symbols
— Textile Industry Affairs {{Public health Consumer symbols Laundry Pictograms