Nerds guide to wash care labelling

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Washing dog beds should not be a trauma. At Charley Chau we have a mantra of "machine washable everything" with wash care labels stitched into every single component on every Charley Chau dog bed. Here's our guide to the world of wash care symbols ...

Wash care symbols - the basics

A black informational graphic showing basic laundry wash care symbols with labels: a washing icon with 'Washing With Water', a square for 'Drying', a circle for 'Dry Cleaning', a triangle for 'Bleaching', and an ironing symbol for 'Ironing' in white text.
A black informational graphic showing basic laundry wash care symbols with labels: a washing icon with 'Washing With Water', a square for 'Drying', a circle for 'Dry Cleaning', a triangle for 'Bleaching', and an ironing symbol for 'Ironing' in white text.


Washcare symbols are based on basic shapes where each shape is associated with one aspect of washcare.

  • The washtub - washing with water
  • Square - drying instructions
  • Circle - professional / dry cleaning guidance
  • Triangle - info for use of bleach
  • Iron - ironing guidance

The basic shapes are rarely seen in this most basic form on care labels because each basic shape is usually embellished with further information on the relevant aspect of care.

Wash tub symbols - the details

A black informational graphic with white laundry wash care symbols and text listing care instructions: Hand Wash; Machine Wash - Cotton Cycle - High Spin Speeds; Machine Wash - Synthetics Cycle - Medium Spin Speeds; and Machine Wash - Delicates Cycle - Low Spin Speeds.
A black informational graphic with white laundry wash care symbols and text listing care instructions: Hand Wash; Machine Wash - Cotton Cycle - High Spin Speeds; Machine Wash - Synthetics Cycle - Medium Spin Speeds; and Machine Wash - Delicates Cycle - Low Spin Speeds.

Variants of the wash tub symbol give guidance on how to wash the item in water.

Check the lines under the tub

The most common error that people make is ignoring the lines. Pay attention to the lines under the wash tub because they make a huge difference to which wash cycle to choose:

  • No line - a heavy duty wash cycle e.g. cotton wash, with high agitation in the cleaning cycle and high spin speeds.
  • Single line - a medium agitation wash cycle e.g. synthetics or easy care wash with medium agitation in the wash cycle and medium spin speeds.
  • Double line - gentle agitation cycle e.g. a delicates cycle with low agitation in the cycle and low spin speeds.

Rule of thumb: the more lines under the wash tub, the more delicate the wash needs to be.

Temperature

The recommended maximum washing temperature is indicated by numbers inside the wash tub as shown below. This is the manufacturer's recommended maximum temperature to wash the item at, using the wash cycle indicated by the lines under the tub.

Remember: the washing guidance is the maximum agitation/heat/spinning recommended by the manufacturer. It's usually fine to wash at lower temperatures and more gentle wash cycles but never use hotter or more agressive cycles than recommended.

Three white laundry care icons on a black background, each showing a washing symbol with '30' inside, alongside white text reading '3 DIFFERENT 30° WASHES'.

Drying symbols

A black informational graphic showing tumble dry symbols and text labels: a crossed-out symbol with 'Do Not Tumble Dry,' a low-heat symbol with 'Tumble Dry Low Heat,' a medium-heat symbol with 'Tumble Dry Medium Heat,' and a high-heat symbol with 'Tumble Dry High Heat.'.
A black informational graphic showing tumble dry symbols and text labels: a crossed-out symbol with 'Do Not Tumble Dry,' a low-heat symbol with 'Tumble Dry Low Heat,' a medium-heat symbol with 'Tumble Dry Medium Heat,' and a high-heat symbol with 'Tumble Dry High Heat.'.

Drying symbols are based around the square with various embellishments giving more detailed drying guidance.

Tumble Drying

The most common drying symbols are based on the tumble dry icon - the drying square with a circle inside.

The dots inside the tumble dry icon indicate the manufacturer's maximum temperature recommendations:

  • One dot - low heat.
  • Tow dots - medium heat.
  • Three dots - high heat.

Dry Naturally

The square without a circle inside is the basis for "dry naturally" wash care guidance.

It's rare to see care symbols for different "dry naturally" scenarios as most manufacturers simply use a "Do Not Tumble Dry" icon on their labels.

However, icons indicting guidance for drying naturally include:

  • Line Dry
  • Dry Flat
  • Drip Dry
  • Dry in Shade
A black informational graphic showing five white outlined drying wash care symbols with labels underneath: Dry Naturally, Line Dry Naturally, Dry Flat Naturally, Drip Dry Naturally, and Dry In Shade Naturally.

Specialist / Dry Cleaning Care Symbols

A black information graphic with wash care symbols indicating dry cleaning restrictions and compatibility: do not dry clean, dry clean with any solvent, dry clean with petroleum solvent only, dry clean with perchloroethylene only, and professional wet clean only.
A black information graphic with wash care symbols indicating dry cleaning restrictions and compatibility: do not dry clean, dry clean with any solvent, dry clean with petroleum solvent only, dry clean with perchloroethylene only, and professional wet clean only.

A circle is used to indicate specialist dry cleaning and professional wet cleaning guidance.

The letters inside the circle give guidance to a professional cleaner about what type of solvent / cleaning agent is required to clean the item.

  • A - any solvent
  • F - petroleum based solvents only
  • P - perchloroethylene solvent only
  • W - professional wet cleaning only

Care symbols for bleach

A black informational chart showing four bleach-related wash care symbols with white text labels: 'Do Not Bleach,' 'Bleach - Any Bleach,' 'Bleach - Non-Chlorine Bleach Only,' and 'Bleach - Chlorine Bleach Only.'.
A black informational chart showing four bleach-related wash care symbols with white text labels: 'Do Not Bleach,' 'Bleach - Any Bleach,' 'Bleach - Non-Chlorine Bleach Only,' and 'Bleach - Chlorine Bleach Only.'.

The triangle is used for bleach related care guidance.

  • Empty triangle - any (usually diluted) bleach solution
  • Trangle with two lines inside - use a colour-safe, non-chlorine based bleach only
  • Triangle with CL inside - use Chlorine based bleach solutions only

Ironing care symbols

A black informational graphic showing five white laundry ironing care symbols with text labels: Do Not Iron, Iron on Low Heat, Iron on Medium Heat, Iron on High Heat, and Do Not Steam Iron.
A black informational graphic showing five white laundry ironing care symbols with text labels: Do Not Iron, Iron on Low Heat, Iron on Medium Heat, Iron on High Heat, and Do Not Steam Iron.

The iron icon is instantly recognisable and one of the most straight forward to decipher.

  • One dot - iron on a low heat only.
  • Two dots - iron up to a medium heat setting.
  • Thee dots - iron on up to a high setting.

It's not commonly used but there is also an icon to indicate "do not steam iron".

Charley Chau Wash Care Symbol Guide infographic showing icons and instructions for washing, drying, ironing, bleaching, and dry cleaning dog wash symbols on a white background with a black header.

Download: Wash Care Symbol Guide

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