Cleaning Laundry Symbols: Here’s What They Mean | Branch Basics

Laundry symbols on clothing tags may look like hieroglyphics, but they provide essential information on how to care for clothing so it lasts longer.

Being laundry-symbol-literate is especially helpful for those who prioritize organic, low-tox, and natural fiber clothes.

Fortunately, decoding laundry symbols is easy to learn and will help protect your fashion investments.

Why Read Labels?

We talk a lot about label reading around here, and clothing is no exception.

In addition to checking labels to rule out synthetic fabrics and chemical treatments, you should also check clothing tags for special care instructions before washing.

And yes! You absolutely must wash new clothing (preferably 3-5 times), even sustainable brands, to remove potentially harmful chemicals, dust, fragrance, fabric treatments, fumigants, etc,. that may have been picked up in warehouses, distribution, and shipping, ,

We also highly recommend reading the labels on laundry products to avoid ingredients that could harm your health and the integrity of your clothes. 

Ingredient Labels In Laundry Products

Before we get into washing symbols, here’s a quick review of ingredients to avoid in laundry products.

These ingredients can harm humans, the environment, aquatic life, and wildlife and damage or degrade the integrity of clothes over time.

Ingredients to avoid in laundry detergent include:

• 1,4-Dioxane, also called Dioxane or Diethylene Oxide is actually not an ingredient but a toxic byproduct of manufacturing found in ethoxylated ingredients. Look out for the following names & symbols:
• Myreth, oleth, laureth, ceteareth, and any other "eth"
• PEG
• Polyethylene, polyethylene glycol, or polyoxyethylene
• Oxynol
• Sodium laureth/lauryl sulfate
• Chlorine bleach, aka sodium hypochlorite
• Linear Alkyl Benzene Sulfonates (LAS)
• Optical brighteners
• Nonylphenol Ethoxylates (NPEs)
• Phosphates
• Petroleum distillates (aka naphthas)
• Phenols
• Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES), and Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate (ALS)

Learn more in How To Toss Your Toxic Laundry Detergent

We also highly recommend avoiding synthetic chemical fabric softeners and dryer sheets. 

Although these products will soften your clothes, they also contain harmful chemicals, like fragrance, VOCs, and chloroform.

They also contain ingredients that coat clothing to create an artificially soft feel. These chemicals degrade the integrity of fabrics over time and make them highly flammable.

Instead, opt for wool dryer balls, which naturally soften clothing minus the flammable and toxic chemicals.

Learn more in The Toxic Chemicals Hidden In Dryer Sheets & Fabric Softener.

Branch Basics Laundry (liquid) and Branch Basics Laundry Detergent (powder) are excellent alternatives to conventional detergents.

These products are specially formulated to deep clean, deodorize, destain, soften, and freshen clothes without any of the above-mentioned chemicals.

They’re also naturally fragrance-free, economical, and work great in cold water for a truly eco-friendly laundry experience.

Shop Branch Basics Refillable Laundry Kits (plastic or glass) or Laundry Detergent.

Laundry Symbols

Now that you know some red flag ingredients to avoid in laundry products, let’s get started decoding those washing symbols.

There are six universal laundry symbols used on garment tags:

1. Washtub: Washing instructions
2. Triangle: Bleaching instructions
3. Square: Drying instructions
4. Iron: Ironing instructions
5. Circle: Dry Cleaning instructions

These symbols are used in different ways to indicate care instructions, so once you understand the symbols, decoding their meaning is pretty intuitive.

Here, we break it down based on symbol.

1. Washing Symbols

The washtub symbol tells you how to wash or not wash the garment.

General washing symbols:

• Washtub with water: Normal cycle
• Washtub with a hand: Handwash
• Washtub with a line underneath: Permanent press
• Washtub with two lines underneath: Delicate/gentle cycle
• Washtub with an “X”: Do not wash

Washing temperature symbols:

• Washtub with a number from 30 degrees to 95 degrees: Water temperature recommendations
• Washtub with one dot: Wash cold between 65-85 F
• Washtub with two dots: Wash warm up to 105 F
• Washtub with three dots: Wash hot up to 120 F

Related reading: Top 7+ Reliable Laundry Stain Removers

2. Bleach Symbols

We do not recommend using chlorine bleach on any of your clothes. 

It’s highly toxic to humans and linked to fertility issues, poisoning, asthma, and more, bad for the environment and indoor air quality, and harmful to fabrics.

Instead, consider these laundry bleach alternatives and follow these symbols:

• Plain triangle: Use bleach (or bleach alternatives) as needed
• Triangle with an “X”: Do not bleach
• Triangle with two diagonal lines: No chlorine bleach
• Triangle with an “X” over the letters CL: Non-chlorine bleach

Related reading: Is Sodium Hypochlorite (Bleach) Toxic? The Dangers & Alternatives

3. Drying Symbols

Improper drying can lead to shrinkage or damage and/or significantly reduce the life of your garments.

The following are the meanings of different drying symbols.

General drying symbols:

• Square with a circle with one line underneath: Permanent press
• Square with a circle and two lines underneath: Delicate
• Square with a half-moon on top (looks kind of like an envelope): Line dry
• Square with three vertical lines: Drip dry
• Square with one vertical line in the middle: Dry flat
• Square with a circle: Tumble dry

Drying temperature symbols:

• Square with a circle and a dot: Low heat
• Square with a circle and two dots: Medium heat
• Square with a circle and three dots: High heat
• Square with a black circle: No heat/air dry

Misc drying symbols:

• Square with an “X” over what looks like a hard candy in a wrapper: Do not wring

Check out Dryer Balls vs. Dryer Sheets to learn more about drying and why we avoid dryer sheets always!

4. Ironing Symbols 

Getting the right temperature on your iron can mean the difference between a perfectly pressed garment or a ruined iron and garment.

Fortunately, iron symbols are super easy to translate. Here’s your list:

• Iron with one dot: Low heat
• Iron with two dots: Medium heat
• Iron with three dots: High heat
• Iron with an “X”: No iron
• Iron with an “X” over two lines coming out the bottom: No steam

Note that some no-iron clothes can be steamed using a clothing steamer or by hanging them in a steamy bathroom to remove wrinkles.

5. Dry Cleaning Symbols

Some clothes require dry cleaning to prevent damage and maintain their shape.

However, many dry clean-only clothes can be hand washed at home using Branch Basics or another gentle natural detergent. This will save money and help you avoid dry cleaning chemicals like PERCs and VOCs.

The exceptions are some types of formal wear, suits, blazers, and very delicate items that may stretch when wet.

See: How To Wash Dry Clean Only Items At Home for more details. 

We highly recommend finding an organic or low-tox dry cleaner for items that require dry cleaning. If this isn’t possible, offgas the clothing thoroughly to remove as much of the chemical residue as possible.

Here are the dry cleaning symbols to know:

• A circle: Dry clean
• A circle with an “X”: Do not dry clean
• Circles with letters or lines beside them indicate specific dry cleaning instructions for dry cleaners.

Related reading: How To Take Advantage Of The Summer Sun For Outgassing

Healthier Homes Start With Branch Basics

We hope these explanations and graphics on the meaning of laundry symbols increase your laundry IQ and efficiency.

If you’re looking for a human-safe, fragrance-free, biodegradable laundry system that’s tough on dirt and stains but gentle on the skin, you’ve got to check out Branch Basics.

Branch Basics Laundry, our original laundry soap, is made using Branch Basics Concentrate (the base of our all-in-one cleaning and laundry system) and water.

This naturally fragrance-free formula works in all types of washing machines, can be used for hand washing, removes stains, and is super gentle on fabrics and appropriate for even the most sensitive individuals.

Branch Basics Laundry Instructions explains how the whole system works.

We also offer Branch Basics Laundry Detergent, a water-free formula that excels at stain removal, odor elimination, cold water washing, and fabric preservation to streamline your laundry routine. Like all powdered laundry detergents, special care should be taken with front-loading machines because of the low level of water used. Add the detergent to the washtub first, and then add the clothes. Do not overfill the tub with a large load of clothes so the water can be thoroughly circulated, wetted, and rinsed.

Learn more about our human-safe Laundry Detergent here.

We also offer natural laundry accessories like Wool Dryer Balls (the ultimate alternative to synthetic dryer sheets) and a Natural Scrub Brush for handwashing and stain removal.

Shop all Branch Basics Laundry Solutions and discover a pure and powerful clean.