So Easy a Caveman Could Read It? Dry Cleaning Made Easy

Some clothing labels we encounter here at the cleaners look like they’ve been abroad to far-off, exotic places. We see care instructions in nearly every language and the labels keep growing longer and longer to accommodate all the do’s and don’ts of caring for the garment.

Someone cleverly tried to create a “universal” care language using pictures instead of words. The outlined figures look like they were carved on a wall in pre-historic times and remind me that it should be so easy “a caveman could read it,” but I still receive a lot of confusion from our customers regarding these symbols.

I’ve included this chart developed by The Soap and Detergent Association in today’s blog as a reference guide for your laundering needs. Feel free to keep it handy so the next time you have a question about how to treat your garment, you’ll have this “language guide” to help you out.

The symbols I consider to be the most important are the “X” and the “O.” The “X” is there to tell you NOT to treat a garment in a certain way, so anytime you see it drawn through a symbol, please heed it’s warning. The “O” is to indicate “dry clean only,” something that when not followed can end in the destruction of your favorite garment.

The dots inside the wash water indicate which temperature you should wash your garments in. The right temperature is a crucial part of cleaning your clothing while keeping the fabric intact. Hot water can fade your clothes or make them bleed color onto your other garments. Water that is too cold won’t destroy bacteria (like that found on bedding), nor will it do the best job removing stains. When trying to save electricity, many people set their wash water to COLD and wash every load with that setting.

Consider that if cold water won’t remove stains or bacteria as effectively a warm or hot water (with garments that are manufactured to handle the heat), that you may be losing money in other ways, such as shortening the life of your garments and fabrics.

Do you read care instructions when doing laundry? Have you encountered these symbols on your clothing’s labels?

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