Washing symbols and their meaning

To wash
dry
cleaning
bleaching
Iron

Washing symbols are important so that garments, textiles, curtains and the like are not washed or cared for properly. They contain important information and provide protection against shrinkage, wear, discoloration and the like. Compliance is particularly important for delicate textiles made of wool or silk, because they quickly damage, but so is also on other materials on the safe side.

Tip: Washing symbols are not the same everywhere in the world. Sometimes you have to be creative to decode the symbols. Mostly they are quite figurative and good to interpret.

To wash

To wash
	Laundry is washable, by hand or in the machine
	Laundry may not be washed (eg leather, woolen blazers, evening dresses)
	Hand wash, laundry should only be washed carefully with your hands. Machine washings can cause damage. Do not wash too hot, preferably hand-warm, use special hand detergent
Washing bowl with indication of temperature - Wash laundry at this specified temperature, not hotter. Colder is no problem.
	30 ° C - Delicate, delicate colors
	40 ° C - delicate shirts, blouses and shirts, underwear with elastic edging
	60 ° C - colored bed linen
	95 ° C - white sheets or towels
	Gentle washing at specified temperature and gently spin, so at low speed, usually synthetic laundry
	Fine wash or wool cycle at specified temperature, do not spin! Mostly wool or hand washing program
Wash bowl with a tap in it - wash cold, below 30 ° C, only with detergent for these low temperatures Washbowl with crossed out black hand - the laundry item does not get clean with usual hand wash

dry

dry
	Dry in any way in the air
	Drying in the tumble dryer allowed
	Not suitable for tumble dryers
	Dry only at low temperatures in the dryer, maximum 60 ° C
	Can be dried at high temperatures
	Drying hanging on a leash, but also means hanging laundry on a hanger, z. As in shirts, blouses or T-shirts
	Square with two oblique strokes in the upper left corner - drying in the shade, mostly with black textiles
Square with a slight curve on the top line and two oblique lines in the upper left corner - drying on a leash, but only in the shade, no sunshine
	Square with horizontal line in it (in the middle) - dry lying down, do not hang! It is beneficial to beat the laundry in a towel and let it dry
Square with horizontal line in it and in the upper left corner two oblique lines - dry lying, but in the shade
	Square with three vertical lines - hang dripping wet to dry, so do not spin, wring or dry in the dryer
Square with three vertical lines and two oblique in the upper left corner - hang dripping wet in the shade

cleaning

cleaning
	Circle (empty) - professional (chemical) cleaning
	Circle crossed out - do not dry clean
	Circle, in an A - cleaning, with all common solvents
	Circle, inside a P - cleaning with perchlorethylene (for cleaning staff)
	Circle, in it a P, under the circle a beam - gentle cleaning with chemical solvents
Circle, in it a P, under the circle two bars - very careful cleaning with chemical cleaning agents
	Circle, including an F - for cleaning staff - provides information on which solvents may be used
Circle, inside an F, under the circle a beam - gentle cleaning with hydrocarbon solvents (for cleaning staff)
Circle, in it an F, under the circle two beams - very gently clean with hydrocarbon solvents
	Circle, including a W - professional wet cleaning, can also be cleaned with water
Circle, in it a W, under the circle a beam - gentle professional wet cleaning
Circle, in it a W, under the circle two bars - very careful professional wet cleaning

Black circle crossed out - do not clean with water, even in the cleaning

bleaching

bleaching
	Any bleaching allowed, so with chlorine and oxygen
	Do not bleach. Bleaching can lead to color loss or material damage
	Bleaching allowed, but only with oxygen
	Bleaching allowed, but only with chlorine

Iron

Iron
	Ironing allowed with iron
	Ironing through - do not iron
	Iron with a point in it - iron only at low temperature, high temperatures can cause damage, maximum 110 ° C, for acrylic, nylon or acetate
	Iron with two dots in it - iron only at medium temperatures, 150 ° C, for polyester and wool
	Iron with three dots inside - can be ironed at high temperatures, this usually needs, otherwise the wrinkles will not go out, 200 ° C, cotton and linen
	When ironing a cloth inferior (usually damp cloth)
Iron, including two vertical beams, these crossed out - do not iron with steam