Decode Garment Care Labels,
Stop Shrinking Wool & Silk.
A decoder for 16 laundry care symbols: washing temperatures, bleach rules, drying methods, and iron settings — grouped by symbol family. Free, no sign-up.
Water Tub Dots (30°C–60°C)
1 dot = 30°C cold; 2 dots = 40°C warm; 3 dots = 50°C hot; double underline = delicate cycle.
Triangle Bleach Rules
Empty triangle = chlorine safe; diagonal stripes = non-chlorine oxygen bleach only; X = do not bleach.
Dryer Circle Dots
Square circle dots designate low heat, medium heat, or tumble dry zero heat.
LaundrySymbols Tools
Machine Wash 30°C
Wash tub with one dot: maximum 30°C (86°F) — cold washing that protects colors, elastics, and most modern fabrics.
Machine Wash 60°C
Tub with three dots: 60°C (140°F) hot wash — the sanitizing cycle for bedding, towels, and germ events.
Hand Wash Only
Hand-wash symbol: machine agitation felts wool and tears delicate weaves — 30°C, squeeze gently, never wring.
Bleach Allowed
The empty triangle permits all bleaching, chlorine included — increasingly rare as fabrics and dyes modernize.
Do Not Bleach
The crossed triangle forbids all bleaching — the default for wool, silk, spandex, and anything colored that you love.
Tumble Dry Low
Tumble dry at low temperature: the setting for synthetics, elastane blends, and anything that melts or shrinks at heat.
Do Not Tumble Dry
No tumble drying: hang or lay flat — tumbling felts wool, shrinks silk, and destroys structured garments.
Dry Flat
Dry flat: horizontal drying for knits and heavy garments — hanging stretches them permanently while wet.
Iron Low (One Dot)
One-dot ironing: maximum 110°C — the synthetics setting, and the instruction that saves polyester from permanent shine.
Dry Clean (Any Solvent)
The empty circle sends garments to professionals: structured tailoring, linings, and fabrics the home cannot safely handle.
Practical Guides & Best Practices
The Dot-and-Bar Grammar: One System Behind Every Care Symbol
Dots mean heat, bars mean gentleness, crosses mean never — learn the grammar once and read every label in any language.
Why Wool Felts: The Irreversible Science of the Shrunk Sweater
Heat, moisture, and agitation lock wool scales together — felting is not shrinking, it is bonding. The science and the prevention.