Washing machine symbols
Every wash instruction on a tag is one washtub with something in it, on it, or under it. Here is the whole tub family, in plain English.
The tub is the container for every washing instruction. Dots inside it set the water temperature — more dots, hotter water. Bars underneath slow the machine down — one bar is the permanent press cycle, two is the gentle cycle. A hand reaching in means hand wash; an X through the tub means keep it away from water entirely.
One honest note before the list: brand laundry charts disagree with each other about the bars, especially on what two bars ask of your machine. The meanings below follow the FTC care labeling guidance, and where real-world practice diverges, the page for that symbol says so.
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Machine wash · washtub
Machine washing is fine — any normal cycle, and any temperature unless dots inside the tub say otherwise.
If you ignore it: This one is the green light of laundry symbols; the risk lives in the dots and bars that ride along with it.
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Machine wash cold · washtub with one dot
Machine wash cold — water up to 30°C, about 85°F.
If you ignore it: Warm or hot water shrinks cotton knits and bleeds unstable dyes; cold is the setting the fabric was tested for.
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Machine wash warm · washtub with two dots
Machine wash warm — water up to 40°C, about 105°F.
If you ignore it: Hot water pushes past what the dye and any elastic were tested for; expect gradual fading and lost stretch.
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Machine wash hot · washtub with three dots
Machine wash hot — water up to 50°C, about 120°F.
If you ignore it: Little risk from going cooler; hot is the ceiling, not the requirement.
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Machine wash, 60°C · washtub with four dots
Machine wash up to 60°C (140°F) — a heavy-duty setting mostly seen on bedding, towels, and workwear.
If you ignore it: Going hotter than the dots is where damage starts; cooler is always allowed.
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Machine wash, 70°C · washtub with five dots
Machine wash up to 70°C (160°F) — a sanitizing-level wash, rare on home garment tags.
If you ignore it: Most home machines never reach this; treat it as a commercial-laundry allowance, not a target.
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Machine wash, 95°C · washtub with six dots
Machine wash up to 95°C (200°F) — near-boiling, reserved for things like hospital linens.
If you ignore it: You will almost never see this on clothing; if you do, the fabric can take anything your machine offers.
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Machine wash, permanent press · washtub with one bar beneath
Use the permanent press cycle — a normal wash with a cool-down rinse and slower spin.
If you ignore it: A full-speed cycle bakes in creases that ironing won't fully undo — the cool-down rinse exists to prevent exactly that.
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Machine wash, gentle · washtub with two bars beneath
Use the gentle or delicate cycle — slow agitation and a slow spin.
If you ignore it: Normal agitation stretches loose knits and snags open weaves; gentle is a mechanical limit, not a suggestion.
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Hand wash · washtub with a hand
Wash by hand in cool water — the tag is telling you to keep it out of the machine.
If you ignore it: The machine's delicate cycle is a gamble here — sometimes fine, sometimes a felted sweater.
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Do not wash · washtub crossed out
Don't wash it at home at all — water itself is the problem. This is a garment for the cleaner.
If you ignore it: Water can dissolve interfacings, buckle structured pieces, and felt wool — damage no second wash can reverse.
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Do not wring · twisted garment crossed out
Don't twist or wring the water out — press it out flat between towels instead.
If you ignore it: Twisting warps the garment's shape along the spiral — knits especially never quite recover.
Questions people actually ask
What do the dots inside the washtub mean?
Water temperature. One dot is cold (30°C, about 85°F), two is warm (40°C), three is hot (50°C), and the rare four, five, and six dots climb to 95°C. The dots are a ceiling — colder is always allowed.
What do the lines under the washtub mean?
Cycle speed. One bar means the permanent press cycle — a normal wash with a cool-down rinse and slower spin. Two bars mean the gentle or delicate cycle. No bars means a normal cycle is fine.
Is a washtub symbol with no dots any temperature?
Yes. A plain tub means machine washing is fine at any temperature. When the maker cares about heat, they say so with dots — and when the tag and any chart disagree, the tag wins.
Does a wash symbol mean I can’t dry clean instead?
No. Washing and dry cleaning are separate families on the tag — the tub speaks for water, the circle speaks for the cleaner. Unless the circle is crossed out, a washable garment can usually be dry cleaned too.
Holding a tag with several of these at once? Tap them into the decoder and get one plan.