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.