Here's What The Laundry Symbols On Clothing Tags Mean

We're here to help you keep your favorite garments looking as good as new.

Melissa Locker writes about food, drinks, culture, gardening, and the joys of Waffle House

We've all been there. You're standing next to the washing machine, glasses on, puzzling over the tag on your brand new shirt, trying to figure out what a circle inside a square might mean. With a hat tip to the experts at Whirlpool and Tide, we have put together a guide to interpreting those laundry-room hieroglyphics.

Before we dive into the details, here's a quick cheat sheet to clothing tag symbols:

The wash basin symbol references washing instructions. Of course, if the wash basin has an X through it, that means the garment should not be machine washed at all.

There are two ways that water temperature is indicated on clothing tags. One is through numbers, specifically the numbers 30, 40, 50 and 60. Those refer to the maximum recommended water temperature for the garment, but in Celsius instead of Fahrenheit. To translate, 30°C (85°F) indicates a cold wash; 40°C (105°F) indicates a warm wash; 50°C (120°F) means a warm/hot cycle; the 60 refers to a hot of around 140°F. These temperatures should be considered the maximum recommended for safely washing that garment.

The other indicator of water temperature is the number of dots inside the basin. The number of dots gives a fairly specific temperature guide, if you know how to interpret it.

If there is a triangle on the item's label, that is a reference to bleach.

While squinting at the laundry tag, look for a square with a circle in it, which tells you it's okay to dry the item in the dryer. Like with the washing instructions, the number of dots inside the square indicate drying temperature.

If the tag on your item has a square, but no circle, that means it should not be tucked in the dryer, but instead left to air-dry. Luckily, there are symbols to help air dry the time in the correct manner.

If the tag has the symbol of an iron on it, that means the garment can be ironed. If the iron has an X through it, do not iron. Like with the washing and drying instructions, look for dots to indicate the temperature for the iron:

If your clothing tag has a circle (sometimes shown as a circle inside a square), that means that an item should be only be cleaned by the professionals. If the tag has a circle with an X through it, that means it should not be dry cleaned.