Laundry Care Symbols Explained: A UK Guide

Every garment sold in the UK carries a care label with a row of small symbols. They are not decoration. They tell you exactly how hot to wash, whether you can tumble dry, and how to iron without ruining the fabric. Once you learn the five basic shapes, the rest falls into place.

The five basic symbols

• Washtub means washing
• Triangle means bleaching
• Square means drying
• Iron means ironing
• Circle means dry cleaning

A cross through any symbol always means do not. A dot inside usually shows temperature, and a bar underneath means a gentler cycle.

Washing: the tub

The number in the tub is the maximum temperature in Celsius, usually 30, 40 or 60. Washing at 30 saves energy and protects colours. Extra marks change the rules:

• A hand in the tub means hand wash only, below 40 degrees.
• One bar under the tub means a synthetics cycle with reduced spinning.
• Two bars mean a delicate or wool cycle with minimal agitation.
• A cross through the tub means do not wash in water at all.

Bleaching: the triangle

• Plain triangle: any bleach is safe.
• Two diagonal lines: oxygen or non-chlorine bleach only.
• Crossed triangle: no bleach of any kind.

Drying: the square

A circle inside the square means tumble drying is fine. The dots set the heat:

• One dot: low heat.
• Two dots: normal heat.
• Crossed circle: do not tumble dry.

Lines inside a plain square show natural drying. A vertical line means hang to dry, a horizontal line means dry flat, and a line in the top corner means dry in the shade.

Ironing: the iron

• One dot: cool iron, up to 110 degrees, for synthetics like nylon and acrylic.
• Two dots: warm iron, up to 150 degrees, for wool, silk and polyester.
• Three dots: hot iron, up to 200 degrees, for cotton and linen.
• Crossed iron: do not iron.

Dry cleaning: the circle

The circle is a message for your dry cleaner, not for you. The letters inside (P or F) tell them which solvent to use. A W means professional wet cleaning. A crossed circle means do not dry clean, so keep that item away from the high street cleaner.

When in doubt, go gentle

If a label has faded or been cut out, treat the item as delicate: wash cold, skip the tumble dryer and iron on low. It is slower, but far safer than shrinking a jumper. If sorting and washing it all feels like a chore, you can book a GlowSpark cleaner to take laundry and ironing off your list.

Learn these symbols once and you will protect your clothes for years. Short on time? Book a GlowSpark cleaner from £19 an hour, or from £16 for members.