Many of us don’t pay special attention to our dirty clothes, we either dump them in the laundry basket or simply throw them in the washing machine and hope for the best.
For people who are more conscious about things like clothes shrinkage, coming out damaged from the washing machine and the likes, there is an important need to pay more attention to the symbols on the care labels.
It can seem confusing to be faced with squares, circles and triangles, some with crosses through and some without, but a cleaning expert has explained what they all mean so you can keep your clothes in their best condition – and it’s incredibly simple.
TikTok account @Cleanfreakz uploaded a video to quickly run through all the symbols, racking up more than 2.7 million views as people were left wondering why they had never been told before.
Holding up a clothing label, he says: “You are too old and too smart to not be able to read this thing. It’s super easy.”
Starting with the simplest first, he explains the symbol resembling a bucket of water means it’s safe to go in the washing machine, and a cross through it means it’s not.
The same symbol with added dots relate to the best temperature to wash it at; the more dots, the higher the temperature.
He says a square with a circle inside makes it safe to go in a tumble dryer and a triangle means it can be bleached when needed.
A picture of an iron means it’s safe to iron and a circle by itself makes it safe to dry clean. A cross through any of the symbols simply means it’s not safe to do.
