What do the dots inside care symbols mean?

Dots indicate temperature or heat level. Inside the ironing symbol one dot is low (~110 °C), two is medium (~150 °C) and three is high (~200 °C). Inside the tumble-dry circle, one dot is low heat and two dots is normal heat.

What does a cross through a symbol mean?

A cross (X) over any care symbol means do not perform that action. A crossed-out basin means do not wash, a crossed triangle means do not bleach, and a crossed iron means do not iron or steam.

What do the bars under the wash basin indicate?

Bars beneath the washing basin reduce the mechanical action. One bar means a mild or synthetics cycle, and two bars mean a very mild cycle such as the wool or delicate programme, both with gentler agitation and spin.

What is the difference between the P and F letters in the dry-clean circle?

The letter inside the professional-care circle tells the cleaner which solvent to use. P means perchloroethylene or hydrocarbon solvents, F means hydrocarbon (petroleum) solvent only, and A means any solvent is acceptable.

Are these symbols the same worldwide?

The ISO 3758 / GINETEX symbols shown here are used across the EU, UK and much of the world. North America uses a closely related ASTM set with the same shapes, though the US system sometimes adds extra dots or words.

What is the Clothing Care Symbol Reference?

Reference for ISO 3758 / GINETEX textile care symbols covering washing, bleaching, drying, ironing and professional care, with a live filter to look up any laundry label icon and its meaning. It runs free in your browser on Gera Tools, with nothing uploaded.

Clothing Care Symbol Reference

Name: Clothing Care Symbol Reference
Creator: Gera Tools
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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Read any laundry label without guessing

Garment care labels use a compact set of pictograms instead of words so they work in every language. This reference decodes the ISO 3758 / GINETEX symbols across all five care groups — washing, bleaching, drying, ironing and professional cleaning — and lets you filter to the exact icon on your label.

How it works

The symbols are organised by a fixed shape per care action, always read in the same left-to-right order:

Basin    -> washing       (number/dots = max temperature, bars = gentleness)
Triangle -> bleaching      (empty = any, two lines = oxygen only, X = none)
Square   -> drying         (circle inside = tumble; lines = line/flat dry)
Iron     -> ironing        (dots = heat level 1/2/3)
Circle   -> professional   (letters A/P/F = permitted dry-clean solvent)

Three modifiers recur across every group: dots raise temperature or heat, bars reduce mechanical action, and a cross forbids the action entirely. Once you know the shape and the modifier, any label decodes unambiguously.

Washing symbols in depth

The washing basin is the symbol people look up most often, because getting it wrong risks shrinkage or fabric damage.

Basin with 30 (or a single dot): maximum 30 °C — used for delicate fabrics and dark colours where bleeding is a risk.
Basin with 40: most everyday clothing. This is the default cycle on a modern washing machine.
Basin with 60: cotton and linen that can take a hot wash for hygiene.
Basin with a hand inside: hand wash only, 40 °C or below, gentle agitation. Do not machine wash even on a delicate cycle.
Basin with one bar underneath: synthetic or delicate cycle — reduced agitation and spin.
Basin with two bars: extra-gentle, wool cycle with very low spin.
Crossed basin: do not wash with water at all. Usually paired with a dry-clean circle.

Drying symbols: tumble vs. flat

The square is the drying symbol:

Square with a circle inside: tumble dry permitted. One dot = low heat; two dots = normal heat; empty circle = any heat.
Crossed square-with-circle: do not tumble dry — line dry or dry flat instead.
Square with a horizontal line inside: dry flat (lay the garment on a surface). Used for knitwear and anything that would stretch under its own wet weight.
Square with a curved top line: line dry (hang to dry).
Square with three vertical lines: drip dry (hang dripping wet, no wringing).

Ironing guide

The iron icon’s dot count maps directly to temperature:

One dot: up to about 110 °C — synthetic fabrics.
Two dots: up to about 150 °C — wool and silk.
Three dots: up to about 200 °C — cotton and linen.
Iron with steam lines crossed out: iron on the reverse side or without steam.
Crossed iron: do not iron at all.

Practical rules

Labels set maximums, not requirements. A 40 °C label allows 30 °C too.
When two garments need to go in the same wash, use the lower of the two temperature limits.
“Dry clean only” (a plain circle) means the fabric or construction cannot tolerate water. This is a warning, not a luxury preference.
The dry-clean solvent letters (P, F, A) are instructions for the professional cleaner’s machinery — you do not need to decode them yourself.