Washing instructions symbols and their meaning

A complete guide to laundry symbols for Hugh McElvanna Menswear. Learn how to wash, dry, and iron your clothes correctly to ensure longevity.

Universal Garment Care Symbols

Care Category Instruction Symbol Description
Washing Machine Wash Standard wash cycle.
Permanent Press 凵_ Use a synthetic cycle to reduce creasing.
Gentle/Delicate 凵‗ Gentle cycle for fragile items.
Hand Wash 🧼 Manual wash only; do not machine wash.
Do Not Wash Item is not washable; usually dry clean only.
Bleaching Bleach Allowed Any bleach may be used when needed.
Non-Chlorine Use only oxygen/colour-safe bleach.
Do Not Bleach Do not use any bleaching products.
Tumble Dry Tumble Dry Safe for tumble drying on any setting.
Low Heat Use a cool setting (one dot).
Medium Heat Use a medium setting (two dots).
High Heat ⦿ Use a high setting (three dots).
Do Not Tumble Dry Air dry only; do not use a dryer.
Natural Dry Line Dry Hang on a clothesline or hanger.
Flat Dry Lay flat on a surface to prevent stretching.
Ironing Cool Iron Max 110°C; ideal for synthetics.
Warm Iron •• Max 150°C; ideal for wool and silk.
Hot Iron ••• Max 200°C; ideal for cotton and linen.
Do Not Iron High heat will damage the fabric.

Important Care Notes

  • Temperature Numbers: If a number (e.g., 30, 40, or 60) is inside the wash tub symbol, that is the maximum recommended water temperature.

  • Underlines: The more lines you see under the wash tub, the gentler the cycle must be.

  • Dots: Dots inside the dryer or iron symbols always represent the heat level—more dots mean higher heat is safe.