Meaning of Washing Machine Symbols: Know What Your Laundry Tags Are Saying
Modern washing machines now come with all the essential symbols that help people wash their clothes even if they’re doing it for the first time. Usually, people just ignore those symbols but in reality, the symbols printed on the washing machines are the ones to guide you and avoid failure of massive proportion.
Washing machine symbols that indicate the temperature like washing the clothes at 50°C means that if you exceed the temperature limit then your clothes will be damaged.
Symbols on the washing machine also guide you through the washing treatment of every fabric like which clothes need gentle wash, cold wash, or machine wash. This way, you won’t face any hurdles.
So, if you want to know about the meaning of washing machine symbols, then read the following points to get further details. So, first, let’s start with its purpose:
What does Washing Label, and Symbol Mean?
Labels use a means of communication that indicates to people what materials are used in manufacturing. Let’s talk about clothes. The labels attached to them tell you what type and how much amount of fabric and threads are used to manufacture them.
Furthermore, you’ll also find some precautions as well that’ll indicate to you how much care and protection your clothes need to be durable and long-lasting. You’ll also find instructions for how to wash them.
Meaning of Washing Machine Symbols
Washing Symbols
Washing symbols indicate all the washing instructions like when to use the machine wash setting, which clothes need hand washing only, and what fabrics don’t require dry cleaning.
Moreover, the washing machine also shows washing temperatures if you’re using cold water to wash your clothes then you need to set a specific temperature between 65F to 85F. Similarly, if you’re using hot water, then the washing temperature should be over 120F.
Then comes the washing cycle, every machine has three types of washing cycle:
- Normal Cycle
- Permanent Cycle
- Gentle Cycle (Delicate Cycle)
The normal cycle is used in regular washing, especially for ideal fabric quality. The permanent cycle is used for clothes free of wrinkles that you can wear directly when they come out of the wash and the gentle cycle is used for garments that are manufactured with soft fabrics and requires delicate washing.
Drying Symbols
A washing machine with multiple features gives you the option for drying your clothes as well and is classified into different types according to every type of fabric:
- Tumble Drying
- Non-Tumble Drying
- Hang for Drying
Tumble drying is the most effective and ideal way of drying clothes where the air flows throughout the clothes with heat and as a result, your garments will dry quickly.
As for non-tumble drying, it’s marked for clothes that are made from delicate fabrics and are light in weight. If you put them in a tumble for drying, then your clothes will tear apart.
Besides that, you’ll find the symbols for drying temperature that’ll guide you on what temperature to set when you put your clothes in a dryer. Some clothes might dry quicker on low heat while others need high heat to dry.
Bleaching Symbols
Similar to the washing and drying symbols, bleaching symbols indicate what type of fabrics require bleach while washing and what fabrics you can wash without bleach. You can find the symbols on your washing machine written like:
- Wash with Bleach
- No Bleaching Required
- Non-chlorine Bleach
It’s simple. If you’re washing clothes like cotton, polyester, and nylon, then you can use bleach. But if you’re washing clothes made from wool, silk, or leather, then it’s better to avoid bleach.
Make sure to understand the laundry icons meaning as some clothes made from spandex or mohair requires non-chlorine bleach. If you use regular bleach, then it can ruin your favorite dress.
Ironing Symbols
An advanced washing machine also has symbols that guide the user that what clothes need ironing and which will look fine without ironing after washing. Some clothes might need low ironing while others need high ironing. Below are the mentioned names of the symbols:
- High Iron
- Low Iron
- Medium Iron
- No Iron Required
The temperature of the iron depends on the fabric quality and whether it’s necessary or not. Fabrics made of cotton and linen need ironing as they get wrinkled after washing.
On the other hand, fabrics like polyester, denim, and rayon are soft and get the least amount of wrinkles, so they do need ironing.
Dry Cleaning Symbols
You’ll also find a symbol that’ll indicate whether your clothes need to be dry-cleaned or not. And if it does, then what type of solvent and temperature is required:
- Regular Solvent
- Solvent except Trichloroethylene
- Petroleum Solvent
- Reduce Moisture
Keep in mind that most of the clothes can be dry cleaned by using any regular solvent. However, some garments do not require dry cleaning as most of the solvent contains Trichloroethylene.
So, make sure to read and understand each washing instruction symbol to wash your clothes with proper care.
Also Read: How to Deep Clean Your Washing Machine Inside and Out
Parting Words
Washing your clothes by yourself is truly a challenging task but as the symbols are printed on washing machines, everything has become easy. For example, you’ll get all the instructions for washing your clothes, what temperature to use, and how to use bleach while dry cleaning.
But if you’re still having some problems understanding the symbols, then you can contact Love2Laundry to understand the meaning of washing machine symbols.
