Laundry Symbols: What Every Symbol Means
The complete guide to every care symbol on your clothing labels. Find your symbol, get the meaning instantly.
Washing Symbols
The washtub symbol tells you how to wash the garment. Dots inside indicate temperature. Lines underneath indicate agitation level.
Quick Reference: The 5 Symbol Shapes
Every laundry symbol is based on one of five shapes. Once you know the shapes, you can decode any label:
Washtub (bucket shape) = Washing instructions
Triangle = Bleaching instructions
Square = Drying instructions
Iron shape = Ironing instructions
Circle = Dry cleaning instructions
An X through any symbol means "do not" do that thing. Dots inside a symbol indicate temperature (more dots = higher heat). Lines under a symbol mean "be gentler" (more lines = more gentle).
Frequently Asked Questions
Dots indicate temperature. One dot means low/cool. Two dots mean medium/warm. Three dots mean high/hot. This applies to washing (water temperature), drying (heat setting), and ironing (iron temperature). More dots always means more heat.
Lines underneath the washtub indicate the gentleness of the wash cycle. No line means normal cycle. One line means permanent press (medium agitation, reduced spin). Two lines mean gentle or delicate cycle (low agitation, low spin). More lines = treat more gently.
Most countries use the ASTM International (formerly ISO 3758) standard, which is the system shown on this page. The United States, Canada, Japan, and most of Europe use this system. However, you may occasionally see older or non-standard symbols on some garments. When in doubt, err on the side of gentler treatment: cooler water, lower heat, and air drying.
If you know the fabric content (check the other label for material composition), you can use general guidelines: cotton and linen tolerate heat; synthetics prefer low heat; silk and wool need cool water and gentle handling; cashmere should be hand washed. When in doubt, wash cold on gentle and air dry. This is the safest default for any fabric.
Sources
Laundry symbols based on the ASTM D5489 standard for care labeling of textile products, which aligns with the international ISO 3758 standard. The five base symbols (wash, bleach, dry, iron, professional care) and their modifier system (dots for temperature, bars for gentleness, X for prohibition) are standardized across the textile industry.
Last reviewed: March 20, 2026