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Mar 25, 2022
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Laundry Symbols Decoded: How to Read Wash Care Labels
You spent one month’s worth of savings on what you call the best dress ever—probably at least for now—and you have worn it to an event that you have been looking forward to since the start of the year. But, now that you have tossed it into the laundry basket, you do not know what to do next. Should you load it in the washer? Hand-wash it? Or perhaps take it to the dry cleaners?
With the care tag stitched on the inside part of your dress, you shouldn’t be completely at loss with your laundry. This tag contains laundry symbols—instructions that would tell you exactly how to wash and dry your clothes. As a Singapore laundry service provider, we’re helping you decode some of the most common wash care labels you would find in your clothing.
Laundry Symbols and Their Meanings
All laundry symbols have a specific meaning, most of which start with a basic shape. Any additional indicator would alter its meaning.
Washing Cycle
Getting the wash cycle right is essential to retain the shape and colour of your clothes and keep them from premature wear and tear (e.g. pilling). In short, clean your clothes thoroughly without the risk of damage.
Washing Temperature Symbols
While high water temperature helps remove dirt, some clothes just don’t handle it very well. For example, natural fibres like cotton, wool, and linen are prone to shrinkage in warm or hot water. Synthetic fabrics like polyester, nylon, and vinyl can also get damaged in hot water cycles.
General Drying Symbols
For many, the dryer does the most damage to clothes—shrinkage, warping elastic, fading, becoming brittle and rough prematurely, etc. Understanding your dryer symbols can help you avoid the wrong drying methods and save your clothes from potential damage.
Setting the right temperature is essential to keep your clothes in good shape, prevent them from stretching or shrinking. The ideal drying temperature is indicated by the number of dots in the tumble dry symbol.
Bleaching Symbols
The bleach symbol is a triangle and when you find it on your garment’s care tag, it suggests that it’s safe to use on your white to make it even whiter. Then again, variations of this symbol would completely change the meaning.
Ironing
If you want to iron your new clothes, you would want to look for the iron symbol on the care tag to know if they can be ironed safely. In most cases, the symbol has dot/s in the middle, denoting the recommended temperature setting.
When dealing with brand new, expensive clothes, you would appreciate every help you can get. The good news? Help isn’t too out of reach—it’s even right inside your garments. Laundry symbols are there to help you get the best out of your laundry, with a little help from your trusted provider of laundry services in Singapore.
For more information, get in touch with one of our laundry experts at Clean Care today!
Also called care symbols, laundry symbols are your visual guide—a manufacturer’s suggestion—on how to properly wash, bleach, iron, dry, and take care of your clothes.
While laundry care labels err to the side of caution, it’s best to follow the instructions to a tee if you cannot bear the thought of damaging your clothes.
If the label has the Do Not Wash symbol (a standard wash symbol with a cross), it is best to dry clean your garment after it gets dirty. Otherwise, you can risk shrinking your clothes or stretching them out of shape.
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