Decoding 37 laundry care symbols

Has laundry day got your head spinning? Do you wash on cold or warm? Does this shirt require ironing? Can that sweater go in the dryer? You’ve got a lot of questions. And on top of it, the washing symbols on your clothes’ care tags can look less like instructions and more like hieroglyphics or your kids’ geometry homework.

All those clothing care symbols can get a little overwhelming, but not to worry – our comprehensive guide will help you become fluent in laundry care symbols in no time. Learn the meaning behind 37 washing, drying, ironing and dry cleaning symbols and get ready to tackle laundry day – the right way.

Whirlpool brand is here to help you crack the code with this quick, effective guide. Bookmark it or print it out and stick it in your laundry room. Then share it with your family and friends. Because laundry day should be just a little bit easier.

How do you read a clothing label?

It is easy to read a clothing label once you know what you are looking for. There are typically two tags to analyze. The first provides information about the brand, where the clothing was made, the size and type of fabric. The second tag contains care instructions indicated by universal laundry symbols. To know how to best take care of your clothing, it is important to know what each of these symbols mean.

What are the universal laundry symbols?

Universal laundry symbols signal to owners how to properly care for their clothes. Whether washing, drying ironing or dry cleaning, these symbols help you navigate clothing care so that you don’t have to guess the best way to treat your clothes.

Washing symbols

The wash tub symbol tells you exactly how to wash a garment, with underscored lines indicating the recommended cycle and black dots representing water temperature. An X, of course, warns to not machine wash at all. If your whites are looking a little dingy, consult the triangle on the clothes’ label (if there is one) for bleaching instructions.

What does 30, 40, 50 and 60 mean in laundry symbols?

The numbers 30, 40, 50 and 60 reference water temperature in degrees celsius. A cold wash is around 30°C (85°F), warm is 40°C (105°F), warm/hot is 50°C (120°F) and hot is 60°C (140°F). These temperatures should be considered the maximum recommended for safely washing that garment.

What does the triangle laundry symbol mean?

The triangle laundry symbol represents bleach usage. An empty triangle indicates that bleach can be used on that item. A triangle with a cross through it says that you should absolutely not wash the item in bleach. A triangle with two diagonal lines inside it means non-chlorine bleach can be used.

Drying symbols

Laundry symbols will tell you not just how to wash, but also how to dry. First, determine whether the item should be air or tumble dried. The lines inside the square will tell you how an item should be air dried. 

If it can be tumble dried (dried in a dryer), the symbol will also tell you how. Just like with wash symbols, underscored lines indicate cycle and black dots represent temperature. Once again, the symbol will be X’d out if you shouldn’t tumble dry at all. If you're wondering if you should add dryer sheets to your load, read our article about what dryer sheets do.

Ironing symbols

With dryer innovations like Permanent Press, steam cycles and Whirlpool brand’s Wrinkle Shield™ option, ironing in modern life is practically unnecessary. But if a particular piece of clothing requires it, or you still like crisp creases in your pants, these ironing symbols, shaped like an old-fashioned iron, will recommend exactly how to do it.

Dry cleaning symbols

Despite how far we’ve come with home dryer technology, some garments are still best left to the professionals. A simple circle will tell you whether the item should be dry cleaned or not.

What does A, F or P mean in laundry symbols?

The letters A, F or P inside a circle on your garment’s care tag indicates that the item should be dry cleaned and instructs the dry cleaner what type of cleaner to use. An A means they can use any solvent, an F means any solvent except Trichloroethylene and a P directs them to use petroleum solvents only.

Shop Whirlpool^® washers

A better clean means better care, and Whirlpool^® washers have the clean you need in a style that fits you. With a variety of washing machines with innovative features, such as the Load & Go^™ Dispenser and the 12-Hour Fan Fresh^® Option, you can customize every load and care for clothes the way you want to make laundry day a breeze.