A quick guide to understanding laundry care symbols

Throwing your favourite shirt or jumper into the wash only to discover that its now the size of a child’s garment or is completely ruined once the wash cycle has come to an end is a soul-destroying experience.

With so many different symbols on each garment label, you can be forgiven for accidentally getting things wrong from time to time, but by taking a look at our quick laundry care symbol guide, you’ll ensure that you never shrink, dye or completely wreck another of your favourite wardrobe staples ever again.

The bucket symbol

One of the most important laundry care symbols, the bucket complete with wavy water on top tells you the temperature you’ll need to wash this particular item on.

Too cold and your garment might not be as clean as you like, too hot and it could shrink, so pay attention to this important symbol.

Be gentle with me!

If you see the bucket symbol has a single line underneath, this means that your item is either made from delicate fibres such as silk or has adornments such as embroidery that means you need to wash with care.

Choose a gentle wash setting as anything too vigorous could damage the item.

Hand wash only

If you spot a bucket with a hand symbol on your care label, then this means that you’ll need to wash the garment by hand. This is common for delicate fabrics or those with sequins, so wash and rinse in the sink ensuring that your laundry powder or detergent is suitable for hand washing garments.

Dry clean only

If you discover that your item has a symbol that shows the bucket with across over it, this means that the item is dry clean only and that you shouldn’t attempt to wash it yourself.

Bleaching guidelines

It might be tempting to try and get rid of stains on clothing using bleach, so if you see a triangle symbol on your garment label, then go ahead as this means that any type of bleach can be used. If the triangle features two straight lines inside, use only non-chlorine bleach for the best results and if you encounter a solid black triangle with a cross over the top, put the bleach away as this is a non-bleachable item.

Tumble Drying

The basic tumble dry symbol is a small square with a circle inside. To discover what heat setting you should be using to dry the item, there will be a series of dots with one dot being low temperature, two being medium heat and three high heat.

If you see a tumble dryer symbol with a cross over it, this means the item is not suitable for tumble drying and will need to be line dried instead to avoid burning or shrinkage.

Washing Machine Temperature Guide – Should you wash laundry at 30 or 60°C?

We are a company that specialises in washing machine repairs and throughout our many years of working experience, customers often ask us what’s the best way to do their laundry: which washing program they should use, what temperature or which detergent is the best. And as many things are a matter of personal preference such as the scent of the softener, others are quite basic and if you follow them not only you could save money but you could also optimise the efficiency and the results of your washing machine.

Washing at 20°C

A low temperature washing machine program such is the 20 degrees one will always be the most cost efficient choice for you. And even though many might argue that a low temperature program won’t remove every possible stain, reality is that in combination with a good detergent the results are quite similar to the ones where the garment was washed to higher temperature program like a 40 degrees one.

Washing at 30°C

The most used washing program nowadays by many households is the 30 degrees one as it is the most adequate for delicate fabrics like silk, wool or even fine cotton. Moreover, warm water is the best way to maintain the vibrant colours and the quality of your clothes, whilst it will significantly decrease your electricity bill as it consumes less energy. It’s also worth mentioning and taking into account that the majority of washing labels will recommend a warm water wash.

Washing at 40°C

Another popular washing machine program is the 40 degrees one and it is mostly used for heavy fabric clothing as they are more tolerant against high temperatures. Acrylic, heavy cotton, viscose or garments that are made by a mix of natural and synthetic fabrics can safely be washed on a 40 degrees program without risking damaging them and also ensuring an efficient wash as most of the stains will be removed.

And as we move on to the higher temperature washing programs the cost raises significantly that will reflect on your electricity bill. However, one of the most profound and important reasons to choose a high temperature washing program is firstly to kill any bacteria and germs and secondly to remove persistent stains.

Washing at 60 – 90°C

As the majority of washing machines have only two high temperature washing programs 60 and 90 degrees, it’s quite often that people will wash their towels, white cottons and linen on a 60 degree temperature program in order to kill bacteria. However, the temperature on its own is not sufficient enough, so it’s best to be combined by a detergent that specialises in killing bacteria and germs. The 90 degrees program can only be used for cotton and linen but then again, clothing labels won’t recommend using that kind of high temperature.

These were a few basic guidelines that show you how every washing program works. Overall, it’s proven that low temperature washing programs are the most cost efficient ones; they won’t damage your clothes and especially in combination with a good detergent will remove the majority of the stains. Higher temperatures programs will be slightly better in removing persistent greasy stains, while you may also want to use them for hygienic reasons however they consume a lot of energy which means higher electricity bills. Ultimately, the choice is yours but it’s always essential to check your washing machine specs and as soon as you notice that it’s not performing as it should please ensure that you contact a washing machine repair specialist.

10 Essential Laundry Tricks and Tips!

Everybody wants to put on clean and neat clothes, but when it comes to washing them, idleness comes in. We all want to appear neat in front of our friends and bounce freely to any occasion with a new cloth, but nobody is interested in washing them after. Don’t take it as a burden – we are perfectly aware of this and therefore we have come up with some tricks over time to speed up this laborious task.

Take a look at these 10 essential laundry tricks and tips to make your clothes look new like never before.

#1 Get Rid of Smells

Have a kid who likes leaving sweaty clothes in a locker for months? Grab two old deodorizer standbys. First, add ½ cup baking soda to 4 litres of water and pre-soak any stinky washable items for about 120 minutes. Then, as you wash in the machine, add ½ cup of white vinegar to the rinse cycle.

#2 Make Your White Whiter

Do your white T-shirts seem to go greyish? White socks look filthy no matter how many times they’re washed? Consider one of these tried and trusted washing methods to make your white stay whiter.

• Soak in a solution of 4 litres of water and 180g bicarbonate of soda.
• Soak in hot water containing 5 aspirin tablets (325mg each). Add 240ml white vinegar to the washing machine’s rinse cycle.

#3 Let Dark Remain Darker

Don’t wait till your black clothes get faded. Here is what you can apply.

• For blacks, add 2 cups of festered coffee to the rinse cycle.
• For dark colours like navy blue, add 1 cup of table salt to the rinse cycle.

#4 Make Use of Soap Dispensers

Hang soap dispensers on your laundry room wall in a stylish way to get your detergent easily, and keep the chemicals away from your little ones.

#5 Create Laundry Wall Space

Crowded laundry room discouraging you? Add towel bars to the wall to quickly give yourself some usable space.

#6 Hang Stinky Clothes

If something TRULY stinks before it goes in the washer, hang it rather than throwing it on the laundry stack; this will spoil its shape and make the smell worse.

#7 Create Starch Replacements

No need to rush to the store to get starch to stiffen your shirt collars or restore the body to shapeless clothing. Prepare yours by pouring 2 cups of water into a jar and adding 2 tablespoons of corn-starch. Screw the container lid firmly and shake well. Now pour the solution into a spray jar for use when ironing.

#8 Improvise

No clothes dryer sheet to talk about? Use a messed up piece of aluminium foil! On top of that, you can use this foil for no less than few cycles!

#9 Avoid Clothing Crumples

If you have a drying stand, you already know that wrinkle marks can be left on your any clothes you hang over the bars. To prevent this, cut a length of pool noodle to hang your clothes over and bid farewell to creased clothes once and for all.

#10 Get That Professional Fold

Now, this one isn’t a necessary hack, but it’s cool if you want to fold your clothes neatly- just as they do at the store! All you have to do is take a sheet of cardboard and cut the width of your shirts up to about half the length. Then you just use the cardboard to do the folding!