Guide

Laundry symbols explained

Care labels say a lot in a few small pictures. Here’s what each one means, so your clothes last longer.

By Style Finder · Updated 26 October 2026

AI illustration

In short

There are five basic symbols: a washtub (washing), a triangle (bleaching), a square (drying), an iron (ironing) and a circle (professional cleaning).
A cross through any symbol means don’t.
Dots show heat: more dots, hotter.
Lines under a symbol mean a gentler cycle.

On this page

Symbol	Meaning
Washtub with a number	Machine wash at up to that temperature in °C
Washtub with dots	Wash temperature: one dot cool (about 30 °C), two dots warm (about 40 °C), more dots hotter
Washtub with a hand	Hand wash only
One line under the tub	Gentle (synthetic) cycle
Two lines under the tub	Very gentle (wool or delicates) cycle
Crossed-out tub	Don’t wash

Symbol	Meaning
Empty triangle	Any bleach can be used
Triangle with two diagonal lines	Only oxygen (non-chlorine) bleach
Crossed-out triangle	Don’t bleach

Symbol	Meaning
Square with a circle	Tumble dry; dots show the heat (one low, two normal)
Crossed-out square with a circle	Don’t tumble dry
Square with a curved line at the top	Line dry
Square with three vertical lines	Drip dry
Square with a horizontal line	Dry flat
Diagonal lines in the corner	Dry in the shade

Symbol	Meaning
Iron with one dot	Low heat (about 110 °C), for synthetics
Iron with two dots	Medium heat (about 150 °C), for wool and silk
Iron with three dots	High heat (about 200 °C), for cotton and linen
Crossed-out iron	Don’t iron

Symbol	Meaning
Circle with a letter (P or F)	Dry clean; the letter tells the cleaner which solvent to use
Circle with a W	Professional wet clean
Crossed-out circle	Don’t dry clean

Heat: the more dots, the higher the temperature for washing, drying or ironing.

Tumble drying is allowed; dots inside show the heat.