Laundry care symbols withinstructions in Japanese. The foursymbols shown indicate that thegarment must not be washed inwater, must not be bleached, may beironed only with a protective pressingcloth, and must be dry-cleaned.
Laundry symbolFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Laundry symbols)
A laundry symbol, also called a care symbol, is a pictogram whichrepresents a method of washing, for example drying, dry-cleaning andironing clothing. Such symbols are written on labels, known as carelabels, attached to clothing to indicate how a particular item shouldbest be cleaned. There are different standards for care labels for thedifferent countries/regions of the world. In some standards,pictograms coexist with or are complemented by written instructions.
Treatment indicated by the symbols is "the maximum permittedtreatment" and is not required or recommended. GINETEX statesthat "milder forms of treatment and lower temperatures than thoseindicated on the label are always permitted." For example, if a symbolindicates washing in hot water and tumble drying, washing in coldwater and drying on a clothes line are also acceptable.
The Canadian system was formerly the most colorful one, using threecolours: green for "go ahead", yellow for "be careful", and red for"stop". This system has been abandoned with the decision to move toa common international scheme.[citation needed]
GINETEX, based in France, is the international association for textile care labelling, and formed in 1963 afteracademic conferences in the late 1950s were formed to define one standard of labelling.
Contents1 General2 Washing3 Bleaching4 Drying
4.1 Tumble drying4.2 Natural drying
5 Ironing6 Professional Cleaning
6.1 Chemical cleaning6.2 Wet cleaning
7 See also8 External links
GeneralThe care label describes the allowable treatment of the garment without damaging the textile. Whether thistreatment is necessary or sufficient, is not stated. A milder than specified treatment is always acceptable. The
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symbols are protected and their use is required to comply with the license conditions. Incorrect labelling isprohibited. A bar below each symbol calls for a gentler treatment than usual and a double bar for a very gentletreatment.
WashingA stylized washtub is shown, and the number in the tub means the maximum wash temperature (degreesCelsius). A bar under the tub signifies a gentler treatment in the machine. A double bar signifies very gentlehandling. A hand in the tub signifies that only (gentle) hand washing (not above 40°C) is allowed. A crossthrough washtub means that the textile may not be washed under normal household conditions.
Washing symbol
Wash at 30°C
Wash at 40°C
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Wash at 50°C
Hand Wash
Do not wash
BleachingAn empty triangle (formerly lettered Cl) allows the bleaching with chlorine or oxygen. Two oblique lines in thetriangle allow only oxygen as a bleaching agent. A crossed triangle prohibits any bleaching.
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Bleaching allowed(chlorine and oxygen)
Bleaching with oxygenallowed
Bleaching with chlorineallowed (obsolete)
Do not bleach
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Do not bleach (obsolete)
DryingA circle in the square symbolizes a dryer. One dot requires drying at reduced temperature and two dots fornormal temperature. The crossed symbol means that the clothing does not tolerate machine drying. In the U.S.and Japan, there are other icons for natural drying.
Tumble drying
Tumble drying symbol
Tumble drying (lowtemperature)
Tumble drying (normal)
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Do not tumble dry
Natural drying
Drying symbol
Line dry
Dry flat
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Drip dry
Dry in the shade
Line dry in the shade
Dry flat in shade
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Drip dry in shade
IroningThe iron with up to three dots allows for ironing. The number of dots are assigned temperatures: One pointmeans 110°C, two points means 150°C and three points means 200°C. An iron with a cross prohibits ironing.
Ironing symbol
Iron at low temperature
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Iron at mediumtemperature
Iron at high temperature
Do not iron
Professional CleaningMain article: Surfactant
A circle identifies the possibilities of professional cleaning. A bar under the symbol means clean gently, and twobars means very gentle cleaning.
Chemical cleaning
The letters P and F in a circle are for the different solvents used in the professional dry cleaner can be used..
Professional cleaningsymbol
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Cleaning withhydrocarbon solvents(HCS)
Gentle cleaning withhydrocarbon solvents
Very gently cleaningwith hydrocarbonsolvents
Cleaning with PCE
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Cleaning with PCE
Gentle cleaning withPCE
Very gently cleaningwith PCE
Do not dry clean
Wet cleaning
The letter W in a circle is for professional wet cleaning.
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Professional wetcleaning
Gentle wet cleaning
Very gently wet cleaning
Professional wetcleaning is not allowed
See alsoWashing machineClothes dryerAir freshener
External links
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ISO 3758:2005 - Textiles care labelling code using symbols (http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail?csnumber=21196)care-labelling.co.uk - Home Laundering Consultative Council - What Symbols Mean (http://www.care-labelling.co.uk/whatsymbolsmean.html)ic.gc.ca - The revised Canadian standard (http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/inoca-bc.nsf/en/ca02009e.html)waschsymbole.de - Washing symbols according to the European standard(http://www.waschsymbole.de/en/)butiksdatabasen.se - Swedish washing symbols(http://www.butiksdatabasen.se/tvaettsymboler_med_foerklaringar.asp)textileaffairs.com - United States care symbols (http://www.textileaffairs.com/c-common.htm)indiantextilejournal.com - Further care symbols, including Japanese(http://www.indiantextilejournal.com/articles/FAdetails.asp?id=390)CFAccessories.com - US, Japanese, and UK woven washing label symbols(http://www.cfaccessories.com/information)Laundry Guide to Common Care Symbols (http://www.textileaffairs.com/docs/lguide.pdf) TextileIndustry AffairsGuide to Common Home Laundering & Drycleaning Symbols(http://www.textileaffairs.com/docs/common-050608.pdf) Textile Industry Affairs
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laundry_symbol"Categories: Laundry | Pictograms | Consumer symbols
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