Symbol Tags on Your Dress What They Actually Mean

Laundry Symbols and Fabric Care Instructions on Clothing

When you buy new dresses, you see six blue tags full of small icons. Most people just ignore them and wash everything the same way. Then the dress fades, shrinks, or gets ruined after one wash. These 6 tags are there to help you take care of your clothes properly.

Washing Symbols

• Machine Wash 30°C: Machine wash in cold water only.
• Normal Wash: Machine wash on regular cycle.
• Permanent Press: Gentle cycle for wrinkle-free clothes.
• Delicate Wash: Use delicate/gentle cycle only.
• Do Not Wash: Do not wash at home (dry clean only).
• Hand Wash Only: Wash by hand gently.

Tip: Always use 30°C for colored dresses.

Drying Symbols

• Normal Drying: Safe to tumble dry in dryer.
• Do Not Dry: Never put in dryer.
• Line Dry: Hang to dry on a line.
• Flat Dry: Lay flat on surface to dry.
• Drip Dry: Hang while dripping wet.
• Dry in Shade: Dry away from direct sunlight.

Tip: Air drying (line/flat) is safest for most dresses.

Tumble Dry Symbols

• Normal Tumble Dry: Safe to dry in dryer on normal setting.
• Low Heat Tumble Dry: Use low heat in dryer.
• Medium Heat Tumble Dry: Use medium heat in dryer.
• High Heat Tumble Dry: Use high heat in dryer.
• No Heat (Air Only): Tumble dry without heat (air dry only).
• Do Not Tumble Dry: Never put in the dryer.

Tip: For dresses, low heat or no heat is safer.

Ironing Symbols

• Normal Iron: Safe to iron at normal temperature.
• Do Not Iron: Do not iron this dress.
• Low Temp Iron: Use low heat only.
• Medium Temp Iron: Use medium heat.
• High Temp Iron: Use high heat.

Tip: Many dresses with prints or embroidery should not be ironed.

Dry Clean Symbols

• Dry Clean Normal (Empty circle): Safe for normal dry cleaning.
• Do Not Dry Clean (Crossed circle): Do not dry clean.
• Dry Clean Any Solvent (A): Any solvent is okay.
• Dry Clean Petroleum Only (F): Only petroleum solvents.
• Wet Cleaning (W): Professional wet cleaning allowed.
• Dry Clean Perchloroethylene (P): Standard dry cleaning solvent.

Tip: Most normal dresses with “P” or circle are safe for regular dry cleaning.

Bleaching Symbols

• No Bleaching (Crossed triangle): Never use any bleach.
• Any Bleach Allowed (Empty triangle): Any bleach is safe.
• Do Not Bleach (Triangle with lines): Do not use bleach.
• Chlorine Bleach OK (Triangle with CL): Chlorine bleach is safe.
• Non-Chlorine Bleach Only (Triangle with lines): Use only color-safe bleach.

Tip: Most colored dresses have “No Bleaching” – avoid bleach completely.

Always check these symbols before washing, your dresses will last longer and look better.