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Laundry care symbols, explained

The five symbol families on every care label — and what each one tells us about how to treat your clothes.

By Auckland LaundryUpdated Nov 20265 min read

Washing (the tub)

A tub with a number is the maximum water temperature (30, 40, 60). One bar under it means a gentle cycle, two bars a very gentle one. A hand in the tub means hand wash — that's our Delicate add-on. A crossed-out tub means do not wash: we hand it back.

Bleaching (the triangle)

Empty triangle: any bleach. Two diagonal lines: oxygen bleach only (our standard). Crossed out: none — we never use chlorine bleach on guest laundry anyway.

Drying (the square)

Circle in a square is tumble dry; dots are heat (one low, two medium, three high). A crossed-out circle means no tumble — we air-dry flat under Delicate. Lines inside the square mean line dry, drip dry or dry flat.

Ironing (the iron)

Dots are heat. We don't iron — but a "do not iron" symbol usually also means a synthetic that should be hung rather than folded; choose Hang shirts.

Dry cleaning (the circle)

Any plain circle or circle with a letter means professional dry cleaning. We don't offer it; these items are returned unwashed. A crossed circle means no dry clean, which is fine for us.

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