Caring for clothing
CARE LABELS ARE sewn into clothing to provide three pieces of information:
fiber content, country of origin and care instruction.
The labels offer insight into the ideal temperature for washing, drying,
ironing and whether the item should be bleached.
Below is a list of the most common fabric-care symbols and what
they mean.
Machine Wash,
COLD
Machine Wash, COLD
Permanent Press
WASHING
Instructions
Machine Wash,
WARM
Machine Wash,
HOT
Machine Wash, WARM
Permanent Press
Machine Wash, HOT
Permanent Press
Bleach as needed
Any bleach may be safely used.
BLEACHING
Instructions
Non-chlorine bleach as needed
Use only a color-safe bleach.
Tumble Dry
NO HEAT
Tumble Dry
Permanent Press
NO HEAT
DRYING
Instructions
Tumble Dry
LOW HEAT
Tumble Dry
MEDIUM HEAT
Tumble Dry
HIGH HEAT
Tumble Dry
Permanent Press
LOW HEAT
Tumble Dry
Permanent Press
MEDIUM HEAT
Iron, Steam or Dry, with LOW HEAT
Iron, Steam or Dry, with MEDIUM HEAT
IRONING
Instructions
Iron, Steam or Dry, with HIGH HEAT
DRY-CLEANING
Instructions
Dry-clean
May appear with additional letters
and/or lines. Take this item to a
professional dry cleaner.
Machine Wash, COLD
Gentle Cycle
Machine Wash, WARM
Gentle Cycle
Machine Wash, HOT
Gentle Cycle
Hand Wash
Do Not Wash
Do Not Bleach
No bleach product should be used,
Including detergents with bleach—or
follow bleach-package test procedures to
test for bleach safety.
Tumble Dry
Gentle Cycle
NO HEAT
Tumble Dry
Gentle Cycle
LOW HEAT
Tumble Dry
Gentle Cycle
MEDIUM HEAT
Do Not
Tumble Dry
Line Dry
Drip Dry
Dry Flat
Do Not Iron with Steam
Do Not Iron
