How to Read a Care Label

Every pair of pants you own came with instructions. They're printed on a tag the size of a stamp, written in a symbolic language nobody was taught, and usually cut out within a week because the tag was itchy. This is a shame, because the tag is almost always right.

In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission's Care Labeling Rule requires most clothing to carry care instructions. Manufacturers only have to give you one method that's safe for the garment, and warn you about anything that would damage it. So the label isn't a list of every option. It's the one route the manufacturer is willing to stand behind.

Care symbols come in five families. Learn the five shapes and the rest is modifiers.

1. The tub: washing

A bucket with wavy water at the top means the item can be washed in water.

• Dots inside the tub are the maximum water temperature. One dot is cold, about 30°C or 85°F. Two dots is warm, about 40°C or 105°F. Three dots is hot, about 50°C or 120°F. Four dots is 60°C or 140°F. Some labels print the number instead.
• No line under the tub means a normal cycle.
• One line under the tub means permanent press: a gentler cycle with a cool-down, which reduces wrinkling in synthetics.
• Two lines under the tub means delicate or gentle: low agitation, slow spin.
• A hand in the tub means hand wash only.
• An X through the tub means do not wash in water at all. Believe it.

2. The triangle: bleach

• An empty triangle means any bleach is fine when needed.
• A triangle with two diagonal lines means non-chlorine (oxygen) bleach only.
• A solid or crossed-out triangle means no bleach of any kind.

Chlorine bleach on colored pants almost always ends badly. If you're not sure, don't.

3. The square: drying

The square is drying. A circle inside the square means tumble dry in a machine.

• Dots in the circle are heat. One dot is low, two is medium, three is high.
• A filled-in circle means tumble with no heat, air only.
• Lines under the square work the same as under the tub: one for permanent press, two for delicate.
• An X through the tumble symbol means keep it out of the dryer.

A square without a circle means dry it naturally:

• A curved line at the top means line dry. Hang it.
• Three vertical lines means drip dry: hang it soaking wet, without wringing.
• One horizontal line means dry flat. Usually knits, which stretch if hung.
• Two diagonal lines in the corner means dry in the shade, out of direct sun. Common on dark and bright colors.

4. The iron: ironing

• One dot is low, around 110°C or 230°F. Synthetics like acrylic and nylon.
• Two dots is medium, around 150°C or 300°F. Wool, silk, polyester.
• Three dots is high, around 200°C or 390°F. Cotton and linen.
• Lines crossed out below the iron means no steam.
• An X through the iron means do not iron. The fabric will melt, shine or pucker.

5. The circle: professional cleaning

A plain circle on its own is for dry cleaners, not you. The letter inside tells the cleaner which solvents are safe.

• A means any solvent.
• P means the common dry cleaning solvents (the most widely used is perchloroethylene) are safe.
• F means petroleum or hydrocarbon solvent only, a gentler class.
• W means professional wet cleaning: water-based cleaning done by a professional with specialized equipment and detergents.
• A line under the circle means a mild process. An X through it means do not dry clean.

"Dry clean" versus "dry clean only"

These are not the same. "Dry clean" means dry cleaning is a safe method. It doesn't necessarily mean other methods are unsafe; the manufacturer just isn't vouching for them. "Dry clean only" is a warning. It means water, agitation or both are likely to damage the garment. There's more on why in why some pants say dry clean only.

If the label is gone

Treat the pants as delicate. Cold water, gentle cycle, inside out, air dry. That route rarely hurts anything. If the pants are wool, silk, lined or tailored, don't guess. Take them to a professional, or send them to me and I'll take them to a professional, which is a sentence I recognize is not a great argument for my existence.