Have you ever searched an item of clothing looking for the care label?  Sure, we all have.  Have you ever wondered what those little symbols on the label mean?  Me neither, I look for the “wash cool, tumble dry” part.

Imagine my surprise to run across an advertisement for a laundry product, and there is a chart of laundry symbols.  I was intrigued! I mean, honestly, I never paid attention to the rectangles, triangles and squares on a care label.

So with some searching on line, I found a great chart.  It’s easy to understand, and I printed laminated and posted it in my laundry area.  So now when a label can’t be found or is faded, if I can still see a symbol I will have at least some idea how to wash and dry it.

Here’s the chart, courtesy of the American Cleaning Institute website:

I am not a laundry wizard – work pants and jeans will always be going into one big load, with towels and whites together and colors in another.  And for the most part, I dry clothes outside on the line unless we have a stretch of inclement weather, and the laundry still needs to be done.  I love the “dry in the shade” symbol!

Have you found this helpful?  And really, tell me if you actually knew about those symbols before this!