PickGlobeLaundry and care label symbols decoder
Pick the shape on your label, then the symbol, to see what it means.
Loading the calculator. Without JavaScript, open the rules below.
- Five shapes: a tub is washing, a triangle bleaching, a square drying, an iron ironing and a circle professional cleaning.
- A cross through any symbol means do not do it; bars under a tub mean a gentler cycle.
- These are the European (GINETEX) symbols: always follow your garment's own label.
How we calculate
The symbols and meanings come from GINETEX's consumer site, clevercare.info, which publishes the European care-label system (ISO 3758). Each meaning is shortened to one sentence.
- Shape. The shape says what the instruction is about: tub, triangle, square, iron or circle.
- Details. Numbers, dots, bars, letters and crosses change it: temperature, heat, how gentle, which solvent, or not allowed.
- Your label wins. If the label on your garment says something different, follow the label.
The symbols we use
Care symbol meanings (GINETEX / ISO 3758 system)
| Item | Rule |
|---|---|
| Tub | Washing. The number is the maximum water temperature in °C; one bar underneath = mild, two bars = very mild; a hand = hand wash; crossed = do not wash. |
| Triangle | Bleaching. Empty = any bleach; two diagonal lines = oxygen bleach only; crossed = no bleach. |
| Square | Drying. A circle inside = tumble dry (two dots normal, one dot low heat); lines inside = drying naturally (one line: flat, two lines: drip dry flat, three vertical lines: drip line dry); a crossed square = do not tumble dry. |
| Iron | Ironing. Dots show the sole plate limit: three dots 210 °C, two dots 160 °C, one dot 120 °C; crossed = do not iron. Some older charts give 200 / 150 / 110 °C; follow your iron's dot settings. |
| Circle | Professional cleaning. P or F = dry-cleaning solvents, W = wet cleaning; a bar underneath = mild process; crossed = not allowed. |
These are the symbols used on labels in Europe and the UK. Labels in the US follow other rules and may use words or a different symbol set. Always follow the label on your garment.
Checked on 27 October 2026.
Sources and last checked
- Care symbol meanings (GINETEX / ISO 3758 system), checked 27 October 2026: clevercare.info (GINETEX): care symbols index
Symbols and meanings follow GINETEX (the European system, ISO 3758). Always follow the label on your garment; US labels may differ. Read more: The stain removal handbook.