Commercially made clothing comes with tags to indicate fabric content and how to care for the item. Often the instructions are written in symbols that are consistent throughout the fashion industry. Learn how to sort clothes for laundering and dry cleaning by utilizing the tips below.

What Do the Symbols on Your Laundry Mean?

Machine Washable

The symbol of an open basin with a water line indicates that clothes are machine washable. Another basin with temperature numbers or dots will indicate safe temperature for the fabric: • = cold, •• = warm, and ••• = hot. Lines underneath the basin indicate the type of cycle—from one line for normal and up to three lines for delicate. 

Dryer

Tags will also indicate whether or not clothes can be tumble dried. A square with a circle in it means the garment can be dried and a dot system denotes heat level—from one dot for low up to three dots for high heat.

Dry Clean Only

Some garments should be dry cleaned because of the delicate nature of the fabric or to prevent extreme wrinkling or shrinkage. The symbol for dry cleaning is an open circle. Keep in mind that most garments can be dry cleaned unless there is a circle with an X through it on the tag. This process helps remove spots and stains, keeps ironing to a minimum, and can decrease wear and tear and color fade from washing. 

Hand Wash

A basin with a hand in it indicates that the item should be hand washed. Usually, this will appear on delicate dresses, blouses, or skirts and some types of sweaters. If you find that your pile of items for hand washing tends to accumulate, you may want to have them dry cleaned instead so that they stay in rotation in your wardrobe.

For dry cleaning and laundry service in the Denver, CO, area, choose Martinizing Green Cleaning – Denver. In addition to dry cleaning with pick-up and delivery options, they offer wash and fold and bulk laundry service, leather cleaning, and care for bedding, table linens, and wedding gowns. Use their on-demand scheduling for pick-up convenience or access the 24-hour locker service to get clothes at any time. Call (303) 504-9855 with questions or visit their website to see a full range of services.