🧷 Laundry Care Symbol Decoder
Look up any wash, bleach, dry, iron, or dry-clean symbol in plain language, then tap the ones on your label to build clear care instructions — a lifesaver for secondhand items with worn or foreign tags.
🔎 28 symbols — tap to add to your care list
Symbols vary slightly between the ISO (Europe), ASTM (US), and JIS (Japan) systems — these are general meanings, not a substitute for a garment's own intact label when one survives.
Never guess how to wash a thrift find again
A great secondhand piece is only a bargain until the first wash ruins it. Care symbols are a compact language of shapes and dots, and once you can read them — a tub for washing, a triangle for bleach, a square for drying, an iron for ironing, a circle for the dry cleaner — even a faded or foreign label tells you exactly how to treat a garment.
Handling something clearly old? Date it first with the Vintage Era Identifier — pre-1971 pieces often have no care label at all, so knowing the fabric and era guides you to the gentlest safe method.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What do the laundry care symbols mean?
Care symbols follow a shape-based system: a tub of water is washing (dots inside give the max temperature, bars below mean permanent-press or gentle, a hand means hand wash), a triangle is bleaching, a square is drying (a circle inside means tumble dry, with dots for heat; lines mean line, flat, or drip dry), an iron is ironing (dots for heat), and a circle is dry-cleaning (letters P, F, or W tell the cleaner which process). An X through any symbol means 'do not'.
How do I build care instructions from a label?
Filter by symbol family or search a meaning, then tap each symbol you see on the garment's tag. The tool assembles them into a clear, ordered list — washing first, then bleaching, drying, ironing, and dry-cleaning — so you get plain-language instructions even when the printed label is worn, faded, or in another language.
Why is this useful for secondhand and vintage clothes?
Thrifted garments often have labels that are rubbed away, cut out, or printed in symbols from another country's system. Being able to identify a symbol from its shape lets you wash a mystery piece safely rather than guessing — important for delicate vintage fabrics that a hot wash or tumble dryer could ruin.
Are the symbols the same everywhere?
Mostly, but not exactly. The ISO 3758 system (common in Europe), ASTM D5489 (US), and JIS (Japan) share the same core shapes with small differences, and older garments may use now-retired symbols. These are general meanings for guidance, not a substitute for a garment's own intact label when one survives — when in doubt, test on an inconspicuous spot or choose the gentler option.