Tools

Care symbols

Five shapes carry the entire system: a tub, a triangle, a square, an iron and a circle. Everything else is a modifier on one of those.

Care labelling uses a small pictorial vocabulary that is consistent across most of the world. A washtub means washing. A triangle means bleaching. A square means drying. An iron means ironing. A circle means professional cleaning. A cross through any of them means do not. Dots mean temperature, and bars underneath mean reduced mechanical action.

The label is the manufacturer's statement about what the garment will survive, and it is generally conservative rather than optimistic. Where a label and a habit disagree, the label is usually right, and the two most commonly ignored symbols on intimates are the crossed out tumble dryer and the crossed out iron.

The symbols

Machine wash at 30
The tub is the washing symbol and the number is the maximum water temperature in degrees Celsius. Thirty is the normal ceiling for anything containing elastane, which is most of a drawer.
Machine wash at 40
Ten degrees warmer, which meaningfully improves cleaning on a cotton brief or a cotton gusset. Safe for plain cotton, harder on elastane over many washes.
Reduced agitation
A bar under the tub means mild treatment: reduced mechanical action and a lower spin. On a domestic machine this is the delicate or easy care programme. Two bars mean very mild, which is closer to a wool cycle.
Hand wash only
Maximum water temperature is usually 40 degrees, though cooler is safer. In practice this symbol appears because of the elastane, the silk or the trim rather than the surface fibre.
Do not wash
Water will damage the garment. Rare on intimates and usually a sign of an adhesive component or a non washable embellishment.
Any bleach allowed
An empty triangle permits bleaching, including chlorine. It is almost never appropriate for intimates regardless of what the label allows, because chlorine destroys elastane.
Non chlorine bleach only
Oxygen bleach is permitted, chlorine is not. Oxygen bleach still degrades elastane with repeated use and will dull coloured lace.
Do not bleach
The correct symbol for nearly everything in this category. Optical brighteners in ordinary detergent have a related effect over time and will yellow ivory lace.
Tumble dry, low heat
The square is drying, the circle inside it is tumble drying, and the dots are the heat level. One dot is low, two is normal. Even low heat shortens the life of elastane.
Do not tumble dry
The most important symbol on an intimates label. Heat plus tumbling shrinks elastane, snags lace and creases moulded foam.
Dry flat
Lay the garment out horizontally on a towel or a rack. This is the correct instruction for every bra, and it is what to do whether or not the symbol is printed.
Line dry
Hang to dry. For a bra this is second best to drying flat, because water weight pulls on whichever point is carrying it.
Iron on low
One dot is a maximum sole plate temperature around 110 degrees, two dots around 150, three around 200. Synthetics glaze permanently above their softening range.
Do not iron
Standard on anything with elastane, moulded foam or a bonded edge. Heat will deform the structure and there is no way back from it.
Professional dry clean
The letter indicates which solvent a cleaner may use. P covers the common solvents, F covers hydrocarbon only. A bar under the circle means a gentle process.
Do not dry clean
Dry cleaning solvent dissolves the adhesives used in bonded and moulded construction, and strips the finish from silicone grip strips.

Reading the modifiers

Dots: Temperature. In a tumble dryer circle: one dot is low, two is normal. On an iron: one dot is roughly 110 degrees, two roughly 150, three roughly 200.
Numbers: In a washtub, the maximum water temperature in degrees Celsius. Thirty is the practical ceiling for anything containing elastane.
Bars: Under a tub or a circle, a bar means reduced mechanical action. One bar is mild, two bars is very mild. On a domestic machine, one bar means the delicate programme and two means a wool or hand wash programme with a low spin.
A cross: A prohibition rather than a caution. There is no gentle version of a crossed out symbol.
Letters in a circle: Which solvent a professional cleaner may use. P is the common case, F means hydrocarbon solvent only, W means professional wet cleaning.

What the label does not tell you

Three things the symbols leave out, all of which matter more for intimates than for most clothing.

Spin speed. A label may permit machine washing without saying anything about extraction, and a high spin is what creases moulded foam and deforms wires. Keep it at 400 to 600 revolutions per minute or use no spin at all.
Detergent type. A silk garment may be marked hand wash without saying that a biological detergent will digest the fibre. Enzymes attack protein fibres directly.
Load composition. Nothing on a label warns against washing a bra with a pair of jeans, which is nonetheless one of the most reliable ways to destroy it.

A crossed out tumble dryer is the most important symbol on an intimates label, and it is the one most often treated as a suggestion.

If the label has gone

Labels get cut out, usually because they scratch. Where one is missing, the safe default for anything in this category is a hand wash at 30 degrees with a mild liquid detergent, no bleach, no dryer, no iron, dried flat and out of the sun. That routine will not damage anything, and it is close to optimal for almost everything in a drawer.

Before cutting a label out, note the fibre content. The composition is more useful than the symbols in the long run. The fabric section covers what each fibre needs.