Learn how to wash, dry, bleach, and iron your garments with this quick and complete guide to washing machine and care label symbols.
Washing machines were created to make your laundry work a breeze. However, if you are not familiar with home appliances symbols, especially with your washing machine’s symbols, or those shirt washing symbols that you can see on the care label, you cannot maximise the benefits of your laundry appliance or even protect your garment from early wear and tear. To better understand your washer and dryer, here are some common washing machine laundry symbols and their meanings that you should know.
Tip:
Before anything else, it's important to sort your clothes or laundry by material, type, and colour to determine the best wash cycle needed.
What are the Five Basic Washing Machine Wash Symbols?
Washing machines in Singapore follow internationally recognised wash symbols that are presented in five categories:
|
Laundry Symbol |
Meaning |
|
Wash Tub |
Washing |
|
Square |
Drying |
|
Circle |
Dry Cleaning |
|
Triangle |
Bleaching |
|
Iron |
Ironing |
These washing machine laundry signs follow a pattern to make it easy to understand their meaning. They generally include lines or dots to indicate the same thing but for a different process. Let’s dive into the more specific definitions.
General Washing Instruction Symbols
| Laundry Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Machine wash | The cloth or garment is suitable for washing in a washing machine. |
| Hand wash | Requires manual washing by hand and is not suitable for machine washing. |
| Do not wash | Not suitable for washing; avoid washing altogether. |
General wash symbols indicate what laundry methods are safe for your clothes. Some shirts, clothes and bedding accessories are machine washable, while others with "do not wash symbols" are recommended for hand washing or dry cleaning only.
Wash Temperature Laundry Symbols
If the clothes are washing machine-safe, you will see some temperature instructions to indicate the safest temperature applicable for your wash cycle. These are represented by a washtub symbol with dots on the inside.
Wash Cycle Laundry Symbols
The lines under the wash tub symbols represent the ideal washing machine cycle for your clothes. Ultimately, the more lines under the wash tub are drawn, the gentler the washing machine cycle must be.
Laundry Dryer Symbols
Drying your clothes can be done with the help of a washer-dryer combo or by air drying your garments. The drying symbols are represented by a circle within a square or lines within the square. Clothes with a circle within a square symbol are dryer machine safe.
Drying Temperature Symbols
Dryer-safe fabrics also follow the right drying temperature to preserve their quality for a longer period. Like washing machine temperatures, more dots drawn within the symbol will mean higher temperature requirements.
Tumble Drying Cycles
If you are tumble drying your clothes and linens, you will have the option of doing a regular tumble drying cycle, a permanent press cycle, or a gentle drying cycle.
Laundry Bleaching Symbols
The triangle symbols indicate whether your clothes can be bleached or not.
Ironing Symbols
General ironing symbols indicate the right temperature that you should use when ironing your clothes. More dots within the iron symbol also means that a higher temperature is needed.
Dry Clean Symbols
Dry cleaning your clothes should be left to professionals to ensure the preservation of your fabric’s quality. There are separate symbols to indicate the right chemicals that should be used when dry cleaning fabrics.
Why Is It Important to Understand the Washing Machine Symbols?
Whether machine washing or hand washing your clothes, it’s important to be familiar with the washing machine symbols to prevent laundry accidents and inconveniences. Remember, when washing your clothes, it’s vital to make them clean, but it’s also crucial to preserve their quality.
Choose Innovative Washing Machines with Specialised Machine Cycles
Innovative washing machines in Singapore can now handle various fabric types, including delicate ones. To score the best washing machine, make sure to choose a model with easy-to-understand settings to help you make the most out of your home appliance investment.