Laundry-Symbols, How to get the best from the wash care labels

The industry wash care labels help you choose the correct wash program for your garment

The Common Industry standard washcare labels

Before going to look at the symbols take a quick look at the fundamentals of cleaning. Or you can scroll down to the SYMBOLS portion now

Or you can go straight to the explanation below.

I hope it helps if you have questions or comments please make contact using contacts page.

The fundamentals of cleaning.how the wash process works.

Sorting the clothes prior to placing in the washing machine

You will understand them and be able to match them to the cleaning process best suited to the fabrics and dyes in your garments or soft funishings.

All clothes and items to be washed should be sorted into like products and colours.

White cottons heavily soiled items, which will require the hottest wash with the most mechanical action should be collected and placed in the washing machine with enough space left in the drum to allow for the maximum drop from top to bottom of the drum.

If they are not too bulky they will settle when water is brought in to the machine which will give them extra space to get the mechanical action they require.

Heavily soiled items may be improved by pre-spotting with a proprietary stain remover for the particular type of soiling.

Coloured items or dark fabrics should be washed separately, and depending on the type of fibres and soiling should be washed as cottons, non-iron, delicates, after checking on the wash care label.

Wash items with similar labels together after separating them.

Pre Spotting checking and preparing heavily soiled areas and stains.

Heavily soiled items may be improved by pre-spotting with a proprietary stain remover for the particular type of soiling.

Pre-spotting can be as simple as brushing caked mud or spraying a solution of detergent and water to help the wash process.

By brushing and spraying the liquid into the stain before the wash process the detergents can start softening the soiling so that it can be removed and floated off during the wash process in the machine.

Where there are stains of blood, ink with a wax base, tar oil from the beach or garage and paint you will require a spotter containing a solvent, these can be purchased and kept in the cupboard ready for the day that you need them.

Grass stains are one common stain which will be removed more easily in the wash if it has been pre-spotted with a light brushing to get the softening process started.

With blood always try to wash out with cold water before it dries hard, dried on blood is quite difficult to remove and may leave a rust mark after washing which will be fixed permanently by the hot water in the wash.

Always Check your Laundry-Symbols for the correct program.

I have a page with the full details of the modern International textile Code of practice on laundry labelling and symols Laundry-wash-care-labels-a-detailed-guide

If in doubt always use your Pre-wash selector button on your machine.

This is normally an add-on program at the front end before the main wash and is normally a very cool wash with light mechanical action with quite a high water level.

This is important for blood stains, grass stains, and any stain of an unknown origin.

Use a biological detergent in this section so that the enzymes can set to work on the stain.

Then you can drop back to non-biological for the rest of the wash program if you wish, but biological detergents will always deal with stains better than a non-bio, especially blood. Learn more about detergent basics

Soiling can be put into groups:

15% is solvent soluble-oils, greases, waxes, finishing agents.

The bulk of the soiling or 75% are insoluble-soot, dust, pigments these have to be held in suspension during the wash then rinsed out and drained away during the wash process.

This means that a modern detergent has to dissolve or remove the soiling from the fibres of the material being washed and then hold the greases and insoluble particles in suspension so that they do not get re-deposited back onto the garment before rinsing and draining.

This is why clothes are fresher smelling after washing than when dry cleaned.

This is because a lot of the soils are diluted and not removed completely during the draining and filtering of the cleaning fluid, which means a small amount is retained within the fibres.

This is prevalent when dealing with urine and sweat on clothing such as trousers which have been dry cleaned.

Where there is a regular problem with bladder weakness it is always best to wear washable clothing, which can be washed thoroughly and left fresh and free from any odour.

This also applies for sports clothing which is best washed to rid the garment of sweat as opposed to just diluting it across the garment.

In fact where sweat has stained the underarm area of a garment washing is the best policy in the long term.

There are now available chemical additives for washing woollen suitings which enable the protection of fibres during the wash process from the swelling and felting.

These silicon products adhere to the fibres which allows them to slip past each other without the damage which would cause shrinkage in a normal wash.

An analogy we can use is, if you take a fresh cabbage leaf - which is after all vegetable fibres in the raw- after placing a leaf in boiling water for a short time the fibres swell and become soft and malleable.

This is exactly what happens to the fibres of your garment, and if the wash is too harsh the damage is permanent. So a balance has to be drawn so that the soiling can be swollen and desolved without permanent damage to the fabric of your garment, follow the guidelines all the time and you will not go wrong.

Wash Care Labels

The Circle Symbol for Dry Cleaning guide

An A within the circle means cleaning with all conventional solvents is OK.

A P within the circle means use Perchlorethylene and mild solvents.

An F within the circle means cleaning only in mild solvents (the old CFC113) or a white spirit.

An X through the circle means do not dry clean.

The Hand Ironing Symbol

One dot means low temperature ironing for delicates or synthetics 120°C

Two dots means Woollens and silks 150°C

Three dots means Cottons and Linen at 200°C

A large X through the Iron means non Iron or do not Iron.

The Bath Symbol or wash temperature label

This is the most important Laundry-Symbol when it comes to choosing your wash program for your washing machine.

This gives the different temperatures for wet wash processing which will effect the dyes and fibres of the fabric.

If there is a line underneath the bath sign or the circle sign it means low mechanical action is required or a deep water level like a woollens program on your washing machine.

It means that for woollens the fabrics are gently agitated for short times with long rests between agitation so as to allow the fibres to recover. This prevents shrinkage and felting. felting is where the garment tightens up so that the material changes from normal cloth to felt as in a felt hat.

For More Information on How to do Laundry

The Triangle or chloride bleach Laundry-symbols

If there is large X through the triangle this means do not use bleaching agents in the wash or penultimate rinse which is where the bleach is normally introduced into your washing machine. Care should be taken that undiluted bleach does not touch the clothing or damage to the colour and fabric wil be permanent and final.

If you follow all these guidelines your wash day blues will all be golden, and your fabrics will last for many years longer than they would have if you had ignored the advice.

The Tumble Dryer Symbol

There is also a tumble dryer symbol which will show the temperature or may have a large X through it which means do not tumble dry.

Laundry-Symbols Here is a Typical washcare label for a Woollen Garment.

As you can see this typical wash care label ia for a woollen garment, which means if you look at the symbols starting at the top right hand side the wash bath symbol. This says hand hot water with a picture of a hand in the wash bath.

The Triangle with a cross through it means no bleaching agents and the text adds that a non biological detergent should be used.

The Cross through the Tumble dryer means dry on the line which also explained in the text, preferably flat.

The iron sign with one dot means low temperature or minimum setting 120 degres Celcius on your steam iron.

The drycleaning symbol with the P in the middlle means cleaning with Perchlorethylene or mild solvents.

This is a guide for the dry cleaning operative which as Laundry-Symbols provide a full guide for professional and domestic operative, with a guide to the type of chemical that can be used or whether or not it can be washed or dry cleaned.

You can have a look at the Japanese Laundry-Symbols and see that they are very similar except they give the temperatures in in Celcius.

For more information on Detergent and how it works in the washing process follow the link.

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