Laundry Symbols – Understand the Label in Your Clothes
Short answer: The laundry symbols in your clothes are five small icons: a tub for washing, a triangle for bleaching, a square for drying, an iron for ironing and a circle for dry cleaning. The number in the tub is the highest permitted temperature, and a cross over a symbol means it is not allowed. If you can read them, you can care for all your bamboo clothing correctly.
The five symbols, in brief
The tub shows washing: the number is the maximum temperature, and a line under the tub means a gentle wash. The triangle is about bleaching; with a cross over it, no chlorine bleach may be used, which applies to practically all bamboo clothing. The square shows drying: a circle inside the square means tumble drying, and with a cross over it, it means no dryer. The dots on the iron show the ironing temperature, and the circle applies only to dry cleaning.
What the label typically looks like in bamboo clothing
Most bamboo clothing says 40 degrees gentle wash, no bleaching, no or gentle tumble drying and a low ironing temperature. That matches the advice in our complete washing guide for bamboo clothing. Always check the label in the specific garment, because blends with elastane or wool can have stricter requirements.
Where the label meets common sense
The symbols state the maximum the garment can take, not the optimum. You may always wash cooler and more gently than the label says. If you wash your bamboo underwear for men, bamboo underwear for women and bamboo bedding at 30-40 degrees and air dry, you are always on the safe side of the label.
Frequently asked questions
What does the number in the wash symbol mean?
The number in the tub is the highest temperature the garment can be washed at. You may always wash cooler.
What does the line under the wash tub mean?
One line means a gentle wash with reduced movement and spin, two lines mean an extra gentle wash, for example the wool cycle.
Which symbol means no tumble drying?
A square with a circle inside it and a cross over it. That symbol appears on a lot of bamboo clothing, which should be air dried instead.
