Clothing Care

In the somewhat male–orientated context of the pub quiz, questions on topics such as this tend to be greeted with cries of "Girls' question!" (or suchlike). It is of course to be hoped that such cries are ironic; but in truth I think most quizzers, of either gender, would agree that if topics like this appeal more to the female of the species then they are only to be encouraged.

The best–established standards in fabric care seem to those of an organisation called Ginetex – "the international association for textile care labelling" – which is based in Switzerland. Although Ginetex appears to have global aspirations, its influence seems to be largely European, with other countries having their own standards. But as this website is unashamedly Europe–based, it's the European ones that I'm concentrating on.

Ginetex lists about 30 symbols on its "Overview" page; Wikipedia has about 40 on its page. Only a few of these are ever likely to get asked in a quiz; this is my selection of the ones that I think are likely to come up and/or are representative of the complete system.

Please note: the squares around the images in the following tables are not part of the symbols; they're borders to the images. In particular, the symbol for "professional cleaning required" is just a circle (often with letters inside, as described below). A circle in a square means "can be tumble dried".

Annoyingly, these are probably the two symbols about which you're most likely to be asked in a quiz. I have been caught out over this myself. Hoist with my own petard, you might say.

I've tried to work out how to remove the borders round the images – but failed!

Washing

		This is the washing symbol. If there's a number in the water, it specifies the maximum temperature (in degrees Celsius)
		A line under the tub, like this, indicates a delicate fabric that requires a gentle wash. Two lines indicate a very delicate fabric that requires a very gentle wash
		Hand wash only
		Do not wash

Bleaching

		Bleaching allowed (any agent)
		Non-chlorine bleach only
		Do not bleach

Drying

		Tumble drying allowed. If there are two dots (as here), you can dry it at normal temperature (80 °C); if there's only one dot, the maximum temperature is 60 °C
		Do not tumble dry
		Line drying
		Drip line drying
		Drip drying

With any of the last three symbols, if the lines are horizontal this means the item must be dried flat. If there's a diagonal line across the top left hand corner, it must be dried in the shade. For example:

Line drying in the shade

Wikipedia has two diagonal lines, while Ginetex has only one. I'm guessing that two lines means "dry in deep shade" - or words to that effect!

Ironing

		The number of dots indicates the recommended maximum temperature for ironing. One dot, as here, means a cool iron (110 °C); two dots means medium (150 °C); three dots means hot (200 °C)
		Do not iron

Professional Care

		This symbol indicates that professional cleaning is required - often interpreted as "Dry clean only". A letter in the circle gives further instructions to the cleaner: F means hydrocarbon solvents only, P means tetrachloroethylene (PCE) only, W means wet clean. As with washing, a line underneath the circle means gentle cleaning, and two lines mean very gentle cleaning.
		Do not dry clean

© Haydn Thompson 2017