Expert Advice > Fabric Care Symbols

Fabric Care Symbols

Ever spot those curious pictographs on fabric-care tags attached to your clothing and wonder what they mean? Wonder no more. Use our interpretive guide:

Washing

Symbol		Written instructions	Notes
		Machine wash: Normal	Any water temp, any detergent
	Or	Machine wash: Cold	Max water temp: 85°F (30°C)
	Or	Machine wash: Warm	Max water temp: 105°F (40°C)
	Or	Machine wash: Hot	Max water temp: 120°F (50°C)

Note: Additional hot-temperature symbols include up to 6 dots (200°F/95°C max).

	Machine wash: Permanent press
	Machine wash: Gentle or delicate
	Hand wash
	Do not wash	Look for dry cleaning instructions

Note: Dots and underlines are sometimes used in combination with other symbols.

	Bleach (if needed)	Any bleach OK
	Non-chlorine bleach (if needed)	Only color-safe bleach OK
	Do not bleach

Dry Cleaning

	Dry clean
	Do not dry clean

Note: Several special-situation symbols for dry cleaning are not included in this list.

Drying

	Tumble dry: Normal
	Tumble dry: Normal, low heat
	Tumble dry: Normal, medium heat
	Tumble dry: Normal, high heat
	Tumble dry: Normal, no heat
	Tumble dry: Permanent press
	Tumble dry: Gentle
	Do not tumble dry
	Do not dry
	Line dry
	Drip dry
	Dry flat
	Dry in shade
	Do not wring

Ironing

	Iron: Any temp (with or without steam)
	Iron: Low (with or without steam)
	Iron: Medium (with or without steam)
	Iron: High (with or without steam)
	Do not steam
	Do not iron

Examples

The following examples are common symbol combinations you might see displayed on care-instruction tags. We interpret each group:

Translation: Machine-wash in warm water on gentle cycle (note the 2 underlines beneath the wash basin; they indicate that the gentle cycle should be used); tumble dry low on gentle cycle (2 underlines again); non-chlorine bleach OK if needed; may be ironed on low heat (with or without steam); do not dry clean.

Translation: Hand-wash in any water temperature; line dry; do not dry clean; no bleach; do not iron.

Translation: Machine-wash in hot water; any bleach OK if needed; tumble dry on medium heat; may be ironed on medium heat (with or without steam); do not dry clean.