What does the number inside the wash tub symbol mean?

It is the maximum wash temperature in degrees Celsius. A tub marked 40 means do not exceed 40°C. It is a ceiling rather than an instruction, so washing the garment cooler is always safe — and usually better for colour retention.

What do the dots on the iron symbol mean?

The dots are maximum ironing temperature. One dot is roughly 110°C for synthetics, two dots roughly 150°C for wool and blends, three dots roughly 200°C for cotton and linen. A cross through the iron means do not iron at all.

What does a triangle on a clothing label mean?

The triangle is the bleaching symbol. An empty triangle means any bleach is safe. A triangle with two diagonal lines means only oxygen-based, colour-safe bleach. A crossed-out triangle means no bleach of any kind.

What do the bars under the wash tub mean?

Bars indicate a reduced mechanical action. One bar under the tub means a gentle or permanent-press cycle with a slower spin. Two bars mean a very delicate cycle — treat the garment as close to hand-wash.

What does a circle on a care label mean?

A plain circle means professional dry cleaning. Any letter inside it — A, P or F — tells the dry cleaner which solvent to use and is not an instruction for you. A crossed-out circle means the garment must not be dry cleaned.

Laundry Care Symbol Decoder — What Every Washing Symbol Means

There are five shapes on every care label and each one governs one thing: tub for washing, triangle for bleaching, square for drying, iron for ironing, circle for professional cleaning. A cross through any of them means don't. Once you know that, the rest is detail. Tap any symbol below for what it actually means in practice.

Washing

The tub is the washing symbol. A number inside it is the maximum temperature in Celsius — it is a ceiling, not a target, so washing cooler is always allowed.

Bleaching

The triangle. This is the symbol people ignore most often, and the one where getting it wrong is least reversible.

Drying

A square is drying. A circle inside the square means a tumble dryer specifically; lines inside the plain square tell you how to dry it naturally.

Ironing

The iron shape, with dots for the maximum temperature. One dot is coolest.

Professional care

A plain circle covers professional cleaning. The letters inside are instructions for the cleaner, not for you.

Four rules that cover almost everything

A cross means never, not "be careful"

It is the one absolute on the label. Everything else is a limit you can stay under; a cross is a prohibition, and the damage it prevents is usually irreversible.

Numbers and dots are ceilings

40°C means "no hotter than 40". Washing at 30 instead is always allowed and usually better — cooler water fades colours less and costs less to heat.

Bars underneath mean be gentler

Under a tub they mean a slower spin and less agitation. One bar is gentle, two is very gentle. They are easy to miss and they are usually the difference between a jumper keeping its shape and not.

When the label has gone, follow the fibre

Labels fade. Cotton: warm, tolerant. Synthetics: cool, and never a hot iron. Wool and silk: cool, gentle, dry flat. Anything structured or lined: professional.

The label tells you the temperature. It does not tell you the dose.

No care label anywhere says how much detergent to use, which is unfortunate, because overdosing does more visible damage to more garments than washing slightly too warm ever does. Excess detergent cannot rinse out, so it stays in the weave — stiffening fabric, dulling colour and giving the next stain something to hold on to. In hard water it is worse again. If you follow one thing that is not on the label, make it "use less than you think".

Common questions

Why do so many labels say 30°C now?

Partly energy use, and partly that detergents genuinely got better at low temperatures — the enzymes in a modern detergent work at 30°C in a way that 1990s formulations did not. There is a trade-off: at 30°C the machine itself stays damp and cool, which over months encourages the biofilm that makes a washing machine smell. Run an empty hot cycle every month or so and the problem does not arise.

Can I ignore "hand wash only"?

Sometimes, but know what you are gambling. Many machines have a hand-wash programme that is genuinely gentler than hand-washing usually is, and for a sturdy cotton item it is often fine. For wool, silk, anything structured, or anything you would be upset to lose, the label is there because the manufacturer tested it and you have not.

What does a diagonal line in the corner of the drying square mean?

Dry in the shade. It appears most often on brightly coloured and dark garments, because direct sun fades dye. That matters in Pakistan, where the instinct is to put everything in full sun — which is exactly right for a white cotton shirt with a turmeric stain on it, and exactly wrong for a dark dupatta.

Do these symbols mean the same thing everywhere?

These are the ISO 3758 symbols, used across Europe, Asia and most imported clothing sold in Pakistan. American labels follow a slightly different ASTM system where the shapes are the same but some details differ, and Japanese labels changed to the ISO set in 2016. If a garment was bought locally or imported from Europe or China, what is on this page applies.