LAUNDRY SIGNS · ISO 3758
Tap the signs.
Get the verdict.
Standing at the machine? Tap what you see on the label — we give the whole-label answer in plain words.
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Step 1 — tap every symbol on the label
Wash
Bleach
Dry
Iron
Pro clean
Whole-label verdict
Tap symbols above — your verdict appears here.
- Wash
- Dry
- Iron
- Bleach
- Pro clean
Why this beats the alternatives
- Whole-label verdict. Not one symbol at a time — wash + dry + iron + bleach synthesized, with contradiction flags.
- No photo needed. AI search fails in dim laundromats. Tapping is faster and private.
- Pocket card. One printable page for the laundry bag — our closest rival has none.
- 8 languages. Every rival we checked is English-only.
FAQ
What are laundry signs and symbols?
Laundry signs and symbols are the small pictograms on garment care tags that tell you how to wash, bleach, dry, iron and professionally clean each item. They follow the international ISO 3758 standard, so the same laundry symbols appear on clothes worldwide.
What do laundry symbols mean?
Each laundry symbol's meaning is fixed: tub numbers are maximum wash temperatures in °C, the triangle governs bleach, the square governs drying, dots on the iron set 120, 160 or 210 °C, and circled letters are instructions for a professional cleaner. Tap them into the decoder above for your label's full verdict.
How do I read laundry symbols on a label?
Read them family by family — wash, then bleach, drying, ironing, professional clean — and combine them into one instruction, with the strictest mark winning any conflict. The decoder above does exactly this: tap every symbol you see and it answers in plain words.
What does the triangle laundry symbol mean?
An empty triangle means any bleach is allowed, a triangle with two diagonal lines means oxygen (non-chlorine) bleach only, and a crossed triangle means do not bleach at all.
What do the dots on iron symbols mean?
One dot means a cool iron up to 120 °C, two dots a warm iron up to 160 °C, and three dots a hot iron up to 210 °C. A crossed iron means do not iron, and crossed steam lines mean iron dry, without steam.
What do bars under the wash tub mean?
One bar under the tub means a gentle (mild) cycle with reduced spinning, and two bars a very gentle wool or silk program. No bar means a normal cotton cycle.
What does the 60 symbol represent in laundry symbols?
A tub marked 60 means machine wash at or below 60 °C — a hot wash for sturdy whites and cotton. It is not a boil wash: 70 and 95 are hotter, and 30 or 40 suit colours and delicates.
Which laundry sign is for detergent?
Honestly: none. There is no detergent symbol in ISO 3758 — detergent choice follows the bleach triangle instead (any, oxygen-only, or none). If a guide shows you a 'detergent sign', it is describing the wash tub, not detergent itself.
What does the circle (W) laundry symbol mean?
A circled W means professional wet cleaning — a water-based process done by a cleaner with special equipment, not a home wash. Circled P and F are dry-cleaning solvents, and a crossed circle means do not dry clean.
What is the complete list of laundry symbols?
The ISO core covers about three dozen marks in 5 families: wash temps, hand wash, bleach, tumble and natural drying, ironing, and professional cleaning. Our 37-symbol glossary lists every one with its own meaning page, and the printable chart fits them all on one page.
Do not tumble dry vs line dry vs lay flat — what's the difference?
Do not tumble dry bans the machine dryer entirely — hang or lay the item out instead. Line dry means hang it up dripping wet, while lay (flat) dry means spread knits and wool flat so they don't stretch out of shape.
Are laundry symbols the same worldwide?
Largely yes: ISO 3758 is used across Europe, Asia and the Americas, and Japan adopted the same system in 2016. Older Japanese JIS variants and North-American extras (like 3-dot high tumble heat) still appear, and our glossary flags them where they differ.
Is my photo uploaded?
No. There is no photo step — you tap the symbols, everything runs in your browser. 0 photos uploaded.
What if my label's symbols contradict each other?
Misprints and old labels happen. Follow the strictest mark — the cooler temperature, the gentler cycle — and the decoder flags the contradiction in words so you can double-check the glossary pages.
What laundry signs mean — and why labels are so hard to read
Laundry signs are the small pictograms printed on the care tags inside your clothes. Each laundry sign has one precise meaning: how hot you may wash, whether bleach is allowed, how the garment may dry, how hot the iron may be, and whether cleaning belongs to a professional. The system behind them is ISO 3758, an international standard, which is why the same laundry symbols appear on clothes sold in Europe, Asia and the Americas — they are humanity's attempt at universal laundry symbols, designed to cross every language barrier.
The trouble is that a label never shows one sign. A typical garment carries four or five laundry signs and symbols side by side, and knowing each laundry symbol's meaning individually still leaves the real question unanswered: what do I actually do with this garment? Wash at 40 and tumble low, or hand-wash and line dry? That synthesis — the whole-label verdict — is exactly what the tap decoder above computes. Click the laundry signs you see on your tag, tap by tap, and it answers in plain words: the warmest safe wash, the drying, bleaching and ironing guidance, plus a warning whenever two signs on the same label contradict each other.
The five families of laundry symbols, in 60 seconds
Every laundry symbols guide starts with the five shapes. The tub is washing: the number inside is the maximum temperature in °C, one bar underneath means a gentle cycle, two bars a wool or silk program, a hand means hand wash only, and a cross means do not wash at all. The triangle is bleach: empty allows it, two diagonal lines restrict you to oxygen bleach, crossed bans it. The square is drying: a circle inside means tumble drying (dots for heat), lines and curves describe line, drip and flat drying, and shade variants keep colours out of the sun. The iron shape speaks for itself — one to three dots for 120, 160 and 210 °C. The circle is professional cleaning only: letters like P, F and W tell your dry cleaner which solvent process to use. Our 37-symbol glossary gives each of these laundry symbols and signs its own page with a plain-English meaning.
How to use the laundry signs decoder at the machine
Stand at the washing machine with the garment in one hand and your phone in the other. Find the laundry sign on clothes — usually a white tag at a side seam, the back of the neck, or inside a pocket — and tap each matching symbol in the decoder, family by family. The verdict appears instantly: no photo upload, no account, nothing leaves your browser, which is why it keeps working in dim basement laundromats where camera-based lookups fail. If your label mixes a wash temperature with a "do not wash" tub, or bleach with "do not bleach", the strictest sign wins and the contradiction is flagged in words, not codes. Copy the link to save that exact label combination, or open the printable laundry symbols chart — one pocket-card page that fits a laundry bag and covers all 37 signs.
International labels, Japanese variants, and faded tags
Because care symbols are international, a jacket bought in Tokyo and jeans bought in Berlin speak the same pictogram language — Japan adopted the GINETEX system in 2016, so modern Japanese laundry symbols match the international set, with older JIS variants lingering on vintage pieces. Our laundry symbols guide covers the mapping, and the decoder, chart and glossary all work in 8 languages, because laundry signs exist precisely for people reading a label in a language they don't speak. If a tag has faded beyond reading, photograph it and zoom in, then tap what you can make out — and read where labels hide on clothes to find the spare tag manufacturers often sew into a second seam.
Laundry symbols on tags, machines — and what to do when they disagree
People often ask what laundry signs mean when the tag and the washing machine seem to disagree: the tag shows one tub temperature while the machine offers its own programs. The rule is simple — the garment's laundry signs always win over the machine's dial, because the tag describes what that specific fabric survives. Pick the machine program at or below the tapped temperature, switch on gentle when the tub carries bars, and skip the dryer the moment any drying sign forbids it. Two questions cover most real emergencies: "what does this laundry sign mean" for a single confusing mark — answered in seconds by the glossary — and "what does my whole label allow", answered by the decoder's verdict. Stains tempt people toward bleach, so check the triangle first: crossed means no bleach of any kind, striped means oxygen bleach only, and chlorine on a crossed triangle is how favourite shirts die. When in doubt, the cooler temperature, the gentler cycle and air drying are the universal safe defaults behind every laundry sign ever printed.