Read garment care labels before washing
Read washing, bleaching, drying, ironing and professional-care instructions together rather than choosing a cycle from fiber names alone. Distinguish temperature from gentle treatment; cold handwashing is not automatically safe without a label.
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1. Read care instructions for the garment, not just fiber names
Check the inside label and accompanying words before washing. Where shell, lining and decorations differ, follow instructions for the finished garment instead of guessing a cycle from one supposedly most delicate fiber. Claims that wool and silk all felt identically, or that cold water suits every garment, are not suitable rules.
GINETEX's current symbol guide describes ISO 3758:2023. The key below concerns that system, not every label across countries and eras. US FTC care-label guidance also distinguishes the US symbol system from ISO symbols. For different markings or words, consult the product and relevant local interpretation guide.
2. Read temperature, treatment and drying separately
| Marking | Meaning in the GINETEX system |
|---|---|
| Number inside a wash tub | Maximum washing temperature in °C |
| One/two bars below a tub | Mild/very mild mechanical treatment |
| Crossed-out wash tub | Do not wash |
| Triangle, two diagonal lines, crossed-out triangle | Respectively bleach allowed, oxygen bleach only, no bleach |
| Circle inside a square | Tumble-drying instructions; also check dots and crosses |
| Horizontal/vertical lines inside a square | Natural drying method; a diagonal line indicates shade |
| Iron | Ironing conditions; check dots and prohibition |
| Circle | Professional dry- or wet-cleaning conditions; show letters to the cleaner |
For example, “30” in the tub with two bars means a maximum of 30°C plus very mild treatment. Selecting 30°C with vigorous action does not follow both instructions. If tumble drying is also prohibited, do not automatically select a low-heat dryer cycle afterward.
Read a hand-in-tub mark with additional markings and product words. GINETEX's current guide separately describes ambient-temperature handwashing and handwashing up to 40°C, so “hand symbol always means 30°C” is an oversimplification.
3. Decide which items can share a load and what to do without a label
Check whether temperature, action, bleach and drying instructions are compatible for items sharing a load. For dark colors or decorations, check product instructions about separate washing, inside-out handling or laundry bags. If one item needs stronger treatment that another cannot tolerate, separate handling is clearer.
A cycle name alone does not establish compliance: check its temperature, action and settings in the machine manual. Read drying and ironing directions again afterward. Professional-care letters are not instructions to use those solvents at home.
For a missing or illegible label, seek care information from the brand/product details or ask the manufacturer or a professional cleaner. Do not treat cold handwashing followed by flat drying as a universally safe fallback for unknown construction. GINETEX explains that no-wash items may be sensitive to wet treatment itself. A hidden-area test also cannot guarantee against whole-garment shrinkage, adhesive or decoration damage; postponing the full wash until information is available is an option.
4. Sources
- GINETEX: Care Symbols — ISO 3758:2023 symbol explanations. The key and example are limited to that system.
- FTC: Clothes Captioning — institutional guidance on US care-label wording and system differences. This is not a legal-compliance determination.