Laundry symbols chart
The care symbols covered by this guide, grouped by category. Use the US / Int’l toggle up top to switch standards. Tap any symbol for the full explanation.
Washing
Open category →- Machine wash, normal You can machine wash this on a normal cycle.
- Machine wash, cold (30°C / 1 dot) Machine wash this in water up to 30°C. In the US this shows as one dot.
- Machine wash, warm (40°C / 2 dots) Machine wash this in water up to 40°C. Two dots in the US.
- Machine wash, hot (50°C / 3 dots) Machine wash this in water up to 50°C. Three dots in the US.
- Machine wash, very hot (60°C / 4 dots) Machine wash this in water up to 60°C. Four dots in the US.
- Machine wash, boil (95°C) Machine wash at up to 95°C on the normal boil-wash process.
- Mild / permanent-press wash One bar means an ISO mild wash with reduced mechanical action. On ASTM/US labels it means permanent press, including a cool-down or cold rinse before reduced spinning.
- Very mild / delicate wash Two bars mean an ISO very mild wash. ASTM/US calls it a delicate or gentle cycle with slow agitation and reduced time.
- Hand wash only Hand wash, not machine wash. ISO has an ambient-water variant (20-30°C) and another marked up to 40°C. An unqualified ASTM/US instruction does not itself mean cool water.
- Do not wash Do not wash this, by machine or by hand. Check the remaining care symbols for any permitted method.
Bleaching
Open category →Drying
Open category →- Tumble dry, any heat You can tumble dry this at a normal heat setting.
- Tumble dry, low heat Tumble dry on low heat. One dot inside the circle.
- Tumble dry, medium heat Tumble dry on a moderate heat setting. Two dots inside the circle (the normal setting on ISO labels).
- Tumble dry, high heat Tumble dry on high heat. Three dots. This level appears on US (ASTM) labels only.
- Tumble dry, no heat (air only) Tumble dry with no heat. The drum just moves air. A filled dot, on US (ASTM) labels only.
- Do not tumble dry Do not tumble dry. Follow any separate natural-drying symbol.
- Line dry Hang this on a line to dry. One vertical line.
- Drip dry Hang this dripping wet. Don't wring or spin it out. Three vertical lines.
- Dry flat Lay this flat to dry so it keeps its shape. One horizontal line.
- Dry in the shade Dry out of direct sunlight. The corner line means 'in shade.' Usually paired with a line/flat dry symbol.
- Do not dry Do not use any standard drying method.
Ironing
Open category →- Iron, any temperature ASTM explicitly defines the blank iron as 'Iron - Any.' Current ISO tables define ironing temperatures with dots and do not explicitly define a blank iron.
- Iron on low (one dot) One dot allows ironing up to 120°C under ISO 3758:2023 or 110°C under ASTM D5489.
- Iron on medium (two dots) Two dots allow ironing up to 160°C under ISO 3758:2023 or 150°C under ASTM D5489.
- Iron on high (three dots) Three dots allow ironing up to 210°C under ISO 3758:2023 or 200°C under ASTM D5489.
- Iron without steam ASTM's no-steam modifier sets no temperature by itself. ISO 3758:2023 uses one dot and a 120°C maximum for its no-steam treatment.
- Do not iron Don't iron this. Heat will damage the fabric or finish.
Professional care
Open category →- Dry clean Take this to a dry cleaner. A plain circle means professional dry cleaning.
- Dry clean with "P" solvents Professional dry clean using "P" solvents: perchloroethylene (perc) or petroleum-based hydrocarbons.
- Dry clean, petroleum solvent (F) Professional dry clean using petroleum-based solvent only.
- Professional wet cleaning (W) An unbarred W means normal professional wet cleaning, a controlled water-based process.
- Do not dry clean Professional dry cleaning is prohibited. Do not use stain removers that contain solvents.