Laundry and garment care
How to Understand Laundry Care Labels
Read the five groups: washing, bleaching, drying, ironing and professional care
Overview
A care label describes the maximum treatment a textile can tolerate; it is not an instruction to use the harshest process every time. Read all words and symbols in order. Systems vary slightly by region, so the garment’s written instructions and brand information control when anything is unclear.
Tools needed
- Garment’s complete care label
- Bright viewing area
- GINETEX or applicable official symbol chart
- Phone camera for magnification
- Employer’s garment information
Cleaning steps
Find the complete label
Check side seams, neck or waistband, including both sides and extra leaves. Do not stop at fibre content and miss the care instructions.
Read the five groups in order
In the GINETEX system the washtub, triangle, square, iron and circle represent washing, bleaching, drying, ironing and professional textile care.
Decode the washtub
A number is the maximum Celsius temperature, not to be exceeded. One or two bars mean mild or very mild processing; a hand means hand washing; a cross means the represented treatment is not permitted.
Decode the bleach triangle
An empty triangle allows any bleaching agent; two diagonal stripes allow oxygen/non-chlorine bleach only; a crossed triangle means do not bleach. Product dose still comes only from its own label.
Decode the drying square
A circle inside the square means tumble drying and dots indicate temperature severity. Square-only variants show natural drying. A cross means that represented drying treatment is not permitted.
Decode the iron
Dots in the iron indicate temperature severity; a crossed iron means do not iron. Check any accompanying words about steam or ironing inside out.
Decode the professional-care circle
Letters and bars in a circle direct professional cleaners about solvent, wet-cleaning process and mildness. They are not instructions to use solvent at home; a crossed circle prohibits that professional treatment.
Common mistakes
Guessing from fibre content alone
✓ Correct actionRead the complete washing, bleaching, drying, ironing and professional-care instructions.
Treating the stated temperature as mandatory
✓ Correct actionIt is a maximum not to be exceeded; a compatible gentler process may be chosen.
Treating non-chlorine bleach as any bleach
✓ Correct actionTwo diagonal stripes permit oxygen/non-chlorine bleach only.
Using circle letters as a home chemical recipe
✓ Correct actionLeave professional-care symbols to a qualified cleaner; do not use home solvents.
Practical tips
Tips for helpers
- Photograph both sides in good light and enlarge one symbol group at a time.
- A combined load must satisfy the most restrictive compatible care labels.
Tips for employers
- Keep brand care information for valuable, school, wool, silk or professional-clean items.
- Give separate household instructions for garments whose labels were removed.
Completion checklist
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