Your Laundry Symbol Cheat Sheet: Quick and Easy Reference
Do you feel confident in how to separate laundry according to care instructions or are you left hoping for the best when pieces are placed in the machine? If laundry symbols leave you feeling in a spin, you are not alone as 70% of adults admit they also don’t understand most washing icons. This can be even trickier if you are a laundry beginner trying to get a handle on the best way to treat clothing and other fabrics!
The confusion around laundry symbols is one of the main reasons that many choose to outsource this time-heavy chore to professional laundry services like Love2Laundry.
In this article, we will share our quick and simple guide to understanding laundry symbols so that you are never again left guessing what an icon means. We’ll also let you know more about the benefits of using an online laundry service when it comes to laundry symbols and give some insights into how laundry apps work.
What Do The Different Shape Symbols Mean On Laundry Labels?
There’s lots of detailed information you can derive from washing symbols, but if you want to keep things easy to understand, firstly, we recommend learning what the shapes denote. There are three categories of symbol shapes that are intended to make it simple to scan a label rapidly for the required instructions. These are as follows:
- Triangle symbols refer to whether or not an item can be treated with bleach. This is essential to understand as more delicate fabrics will be unable to withstand the harsh effects of this cleaning substance. Instead, if you see this logo, you will need to find an alternative stain or odour removal method.
- Washing instructions are always illustrated with a bucket symbol, which contains different internal shapes and associated wording to confirm how best to process pieces, either by machine or by hand-washing.
- Any instructions for ironing are designed with an icon that resembles a traditional hand-held iron. This includes temperature and if the item is suitable for treating in this way.
- All square symbols confirm how an item should be dried once it has been washed. This covers both machine and air-drying methods.
- Finally, if an item can only be dry cleaned due to the delicate nature of the fabric, the chosen symbol is a circle.
We have shared more detailed information about these in our ultimate guide to understanding laundry and washing symbols in the UK.
Guide Guide To Symbols That Refer To Fabric Washing
Did you know that the average adult will ruin 95 items of clothing over their lifestyle by washing them incorrectly? Not only is it incredibly inconvenient if this happens, but it’s also costly as it means that pieces need to be replaced before their lifespan is up.
Understanding washing symbols at a glance will greatly reduce the chance of this happening. You will be relieved to know the key for this is simple. Firstly, you will need to understand if an item is suitable for washing in a machine. Unless you see the hand wash or do not wash symbols, you are safe to proceed.
Next, you will need to confirm the best temperature to use. This is represented by how many dots appear or what the written number is. The amount of these denotes the standard usage of UK machines (for example, one dot means cold, which is 30 °C). Finally, if washing can take place but special considerations must be made, lines will appear underneath, along with further instructions.
Another consideration is also choosing the right laundry soda, cleaning detergents and fabric conditioners. To determine this, you should understand the exact fabric material make-up from the care label and compare with the recommendations on the cleaning product packaging.
Guide Guide To Symbols That Are For Fabric Drying
Another time when clothing and other materials can experience damage during cleaning is if they are not dried properly. Although it can be tempting to just manage all items the same way to get the job finished more quickly, that is not the best idea!
If you have an item with a logo which is circular with lines through them, the dryer cannot be used.This means you will need to use an outside clothesline or inside airer. For pieces that are suitable for placing in the dryer, various circle symbols with dots will be available. Just like washing, this denotes the type of cycle and temperature which are best to select.
Finally, you may also come across other drying symbols for more detailed instructions such as press-only or dry flat instructions for items that will be more likely to crease. This is also the case if some pieces cannot be ironed as the drying process is also the period in which any marks are removed.
Why Is It Important To Follow Laundry Symbols?
Now you understand in a snapshot the simple view of how to manage laundry symbols, we wanted to confirm some other reasons why it’s important to set time aside to pay attention to the icons. Alongside preventing damage, these are as follows:
Modern Machines Have More Settings Available To Select From
Although all machines will allow you options for treating clothing in specific ways, contemporary products are known for offering an enhanced amount of settings. This can be overwhelming and lead to mistakes taking place in how pieces are washed, dried and finished. Paying attention to care labels and correlating the instruction with the symbols will eliminate these risks resulting in efficient cleaning.
The Best Results Can Only Be Guaranteed With Recommended Care
As well as reducing the chance of damage occurring, following laundry symbols ensures the quality and original condition of fabrics can be best maintained. Of course, this will naturally deteriorate slightly over time but with proper care, the speed of this can be reduced. By enhancing the lifespan of items, you can also ensure less is being spent on clothing and other household fabrics.
Another element covered by this point is the ability to maintain textures, special designs and colours. Proper washing means that anything from neon items to boucle coats will remain in brilliant states. Finally, following care symbols also ensures delicate materials can be properly cared for.
Reduced The Environmental Impact Associated With Laundry
Looking after clothing effectively means that the best conditions for sustainable washing can be optimised. Efficient washing involves using less electricity and water plus means that more items are likely to be selected for cleaning together in one load instead of separate ones.
This also means that as less items will be damaged, the amount of garments and household fabrics in landfill is not increasing at an unmanageable rate.
How Does Love2Laundry Manage Laundry Symbols?
If you are still confused about how to properly manage and understand laundry symbols, fear not, as our laundry app can completely eliminate them from your radar!
Our online laundry services mean that all items are picked up and then professionally washed by housekeeping experts. Part of this process is correctly sorting items and treating them in the best way possible as per their care instructions. To ensure this is possible, we provide a variety of services via our laundry collection service including washing, dry cleaning, ironing and pressing. No matter what laundry symbols an item includes, we are equipped to manage the cleaning of them properly.
Additional benefits are that our app is simple to use, pricing is clearly displayed, our collections plus deliveries are versatile to suit your needs, plus all of the vehicles are electric to provide further environmental energy saving. By outsourcing your laundry to our expert team, you never again have to spend time deciphering laundry symbols as our team has got that covered.
Click the link now to learn more about our services.
