Short answer: every care label is built from five shapes. A tub means washing, a triangle means bleach, a square means drying, an iron means ironing and a circle means professional cleaning. Dots inside a shape set the temperature, bars underneath set how gentle the cycle has to be, and a cross through any shape means never do it. Learn the five shapes and the dot-and-bar system, and you can read a label from any country without looking anything up.
The five shapes
| Shape | What it controls | The one rule |
|---|---|---|
| Tub of water | Washing | Dots set the temperature, bars set the agitation |
| Triangle | Bleach | Empty means any bleach, striped means oxygen only |
| Square | Drying | A circle inside means the tumble dryer, lines inside mean air-dry |
| Iron | Ironing | Dots set the plate temperature |
| Circle | Professional cleaning | Letters inside tell the cleaner which solvent to use |
Nothing else appears on a care label. Everything you have ever squinted at is one of those five shapes with dots, bars, lines or a cross added to it.
Dots, bars and crosses: the grammar of every label
- Dots are temperature. In a wash tub: one dot 30 °C, two 40 °C, three 50 °C, four 60 °C, five 70 °C, six 95 °C. In a dryer or an iron, dots are a low, medium and high scale instead of exact degrees.
- Bars are gentleness. No bar means a normal cycle. One bar means permanent press or mild: reduced spin, shorter tumble. Two bars mean delicate or very mild: minimum agitation, lowest spin.
- A cross means never. A crossed symbol is the only true prohibition on a label. Everything else is a maximum, not a target.
That last point is the one worth remembering. A tub with two dots is not an instruction to wash at 40 °C, it is permission to go no hotter. Washing colder is always allowed, and with an enzyme detergent it cleans just as well, as set out in does cold water actually clean clothes.
Washing symbols: the tub
| Symbol | Meaning | What to actually do |
|---|---|---|
| Plain tub | Machine wash, any normal cycle | One pod, cold, normal cycle |
| Tub with dots | Maximum temperature | Treat it as a ceiling, wash cooler by choice |
| Tub with one bar | Permanent press or mild | Normal temperature, reduced spin, do not overfill |
| Tub with two bars | Delicate or very mild | Delicate cycle, mesh bag, drum no more than half full |
| Hand in a tub | Hand wash only, 40 °C maximum | Basin, lukewarm water, no wringing |
| Crossed tub | Do not wash in water | Professional cleaning only, check the circle |
On a hand-wash or two-bar delicate load, dissolve the pod in the water before the garment goes in, so no concentrated detergent ever sits against a single fibre. The full method for every other load is in how to use laundry pods.
Bleach symbols: the triangle
- Empty triangle: any bleach is safe, including chlorine.
- Triangle with two diagonal stripes: non-chlorine, oxygen-based bleach only.
- Crossed triangle: no bleach of any kind.
A crossed triangle restricts what you add to the wash. It does not restrict detergent. Scent Wash pods contain no chlorine bleach and no optical brighteners, so they are safe on every garment whose label crosses out the triangle.
Drying symbols: the square
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Square with a circle inside | Tumble drying is allowed |
| Circle with one dot | Low heat |
| Circle with two dots | Medium heat |
| Circle with three dots | High heat |
| Filled circle in a square | Tumble dry, no heat, air-fluff only |
| Crossed circle in a square | Do not tumble dry |
| Square with one horizontal line | Dry flat |
| Square with a curved line at the top | Line dry |
| Square with three vertical lines | Drip dry, do not wring |
| Diagonal line in the top corner | Dry in the shade, out of direct sun |
One dot is the setting most wardrobes want anyway. High heat is what breaks elastic, shrinks cotton and burns the top notes off a fragrance before you have folded the load. If a label allows tumble drying, a dryer sheet belongs on that load; the exceptions, including towels, activewear and flame-resistant children's sleepwear, are covered in what do dryer sheets do.
Ironing symbols
- One dot: up to about 110 °C, for acetate, acrylic, nylon and most synthetics.
- Two dots: up to about 150 °C, for polyester, silk and wool blends.
- Three dots: up to about 200 °C, for cotton and linen.
- Crossed lines under the iron: no steam.
- Crossed iron: do not iron at all.
Professional cleaning: the circle
- Plain circle: dry cleaning is allowed.
- P in a circle: any solvent except trichloroethylene.
- F in a circle: petroleum solvent only.
- W in a circle: professional wet cleaning, a water-based process, not dry cleaning.
- Crossed circle: do not dry clean.
- A bar under the circle means the process must be gentle; two bars means very gentle.
The five symbols people read wrong
- "Dry clean only" without a crossed tub. Manufacturers often print the circle for liability rather than necessity. The crossed tub is the real prohibition. If the tub is not crossed, a cold hand wash is usually within spec.
- Two bars treated as "fairly gentle". Two bars is a spin-speed instruction as much as a cycle name. Wool and silk survive agitation far better than they survive a 1,400 rpm spin.
- Dryer dots read on the wash scale. Three dots in a tub means 50 °C. Three dots in a dryer circle means the hottest setting the machine has.
- A hand-wash symbol read as a target. The 40 °C beside a hand symbol is a ceiling. Lukewarm to cool is better for every fibre that carries that label.
- No label at all. When the tag has been cut out, go by fibre: cotton and linen behave like a plain tub, wool and silk behave like two bars plus dry flat, and anything with elastane wants cold and low heat.
A one-minute label routine
- Find the tub. Is it crossed? If yes, the load is a professional job and the circle tells the cleaner what to use.
- Count the bars. No bar goes in a normal load, one bar in permanent press, two bars in a mesh bag on delicate.
- Ignore the dots and wash cold unless the load is bedding, towels or sanitising work.
- Check the square before the dryer, not after. Heat is the step that cannot be undone.
- Sort by bar count rather than by colour when a load is mixed. Agitation ruins more garments than dye transfer does.
Fibre-specific method for everything carrying two bars, a dry-flat square or a hand symbol is in how to wash wool, cashmere, silk and linen at home.
The full decoder, printed as a reference table alongside the fibre index, water hardness chart and machine calendar, is in The Scent Wash Fabric Care Manual, a free 13-page PDF.
Frequently asked questions
What do the dots in laundry symbols mean?
Dots are temperature. In a wash tub, one dot is 30 degrees Celsius, two is 40, three is 50, four is 60, five is 70 and six is 95. In a dryer circle or an iron, dots are a low, medium and high scale rather than exact degrees. A dot is always a maximum, never a target.
What do the bars under the wash tub mean?
Bars set how gentle the cycle must be. No bar means a normal cycle, one bar means permanent press or mild with a reduced spin, and two bars mean delicate or very mild with minimum agitation and the lowest spin available.
Does dry clean only really mean only dry clean?
Often not. Many labels print the dry-cleaning circle for liability rather than necessity. The genuine prohibition is a crossed-out wash tub. If the tub is not crossed out, a cold hand wash is usually within specification, although structured tailoring, leather trim and heavy embellishment should still go to a cleaner.
What does a hand in a tub of water mean?
Hand wash only, at no more than 40 degrees Celsius. Use a basin of lukewarm water, dissolve the detergent before the garment goes in, squeeze rather than wring, and dry flat unless the label says otherwise.
Which symbol means do not tumble dry?
A square containing a circle with a cross through it. A square with lines inside instead of a circle tells you which air-drying method to use: one horizontal line means dry flat, a curve at the top means line dry, and three vertical lines mean drip dry without wringing.
What does a W in a circle mean on a care label?
Professional wet cleaning. It is a water-based commercial process, not dry cleaning, and a specialist cleaner will know the difference. A crossed-out circle means no professional cleaning of any kind.
