Label on clothes, or how to properly handle things

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Buying a new thing is always a pleasant experience. Bringing home jeans or a blouse, we hope for a long time to wear a thing with pleasure and show off a new thing in front of friends. At the same time, not everyone considers it necessary to look at the label before the first wash or dry cleaning, and even fewer people comply with the restrictions indicated on it. The result, as a rule, is sad: a damaged thing, a fallen mood and the need for new cash costs. But all these troubles can be easily avoided by carefully reading the symbols on clothing labels.

What are clothes labels for?

Many people immediately after the purchase are in a hurry to unpick the interfering piece of fabric. In no case should you do this, because the label on the clothes plays the role of a kind of instruction manual. The symbols on it tell you how to wash the item correctly, whether it can be ironed, how to dry it and many other requirements that allow you to keep your clothes in good shape for many years.

Any symbols on the label represent a picture in whichsome information about the item of clothing you bought is encrypted. In a sense, the icons on clothing labels are pictographic writing, and the meaning of many of them is realized on an intuitive level. At the same time, they have their own nuances, and a mistake in reading them can irrevocably spoil the thing.

What do labels say?

Designations on clothing labels can be conditionally divided into several groups, depending on what information they contain. These can be warning symbols that limit people's actions in relation to things, as well as prohibitory and informational ones. The latter provide the buyer with basic information about clothing, and if, for example, you are allergic to synthetics, then these icons should determine your choice of a particular wardrobe item.

Any label must answer the following questions:

• what the thing is made of;
• can it be washed, and if so, is it machine washable;
• how is it allowed to dry these clothes;
• is it allowed to use chemical cleaners;
• what is the maximum ironing temperature.

Sometimes the clothing size and manufacturer are also indicated here.

The shape of the symbols is fixed by both pan-European and Russian GOSTs, so the label on clothes always has recognizable features, regardless of the country in which the goods were produced.

How to find out the washing method on the label?

To make it easierto navigate the labels, you need to remember that they are all a schematic representation of a particular process. The simpler the picture, the less restrictions in operation. Each additional requirement adds another symbol to the icon.

So, the icons related to laundry are a stylized image of a trough with water. It can be crossed out with an oblique cross. This means that washing in any form is prohibited.

The maximum allowable water temperature is indicated by a number with a "°" symbol drawn in the middle of the picture. Sometimes, however, numbers are replaced by dots - one, two, three or four. They mean, respectively, 30, 45, 60 or 90 degrees. But if you can only wash a thing by hand, the corresponding symbol will contain a schematic image of a palm.

Pay special attention to information about the use of chemical cleaners. Some things from the use of such products may fade or shed. The letters Cl inscribed in a triangle allow the use of chlorine-based bleaches, but an empty triangle means that you will have to wash without additional cleaning agents.

Some items require a gentle or delicate wash. This will be reported to you by one or two horizontal lines under the "trough". As a rule, on these things you can also see a crossed out circle with a square. This means that washing clothes with a washing machine is not recommended.

How can I find out about the dry-cleaning ban?

Pay special attention to information about the use of chemical cleaners: some things from the use of such products may fade or shed. Chemical cleaning is indicated by a circle in which various additional symbols are inscribed.

• "A" - any bleach;
• "P" - only cleaners based on gasoline, hydrocarbon, monofluorotrichloromethane or ethylene chloride;
• "F" - only hydrocarbon, gasoline and trifluorotrichloromethane can be used.

Don't forget that adding a horizontal line below any of these letters indicates a delicate wash with a little water and spin control.

How can I tell if my clothes can be ironed by the label?

Any thing should have a drawing of an iron, made with some degree of certainty. These symbols on clothing labels show the precautions to be taken when ironing. Of course, any detail of the wardrobe can be changed. But if some items can be ironed without fear, then others, especially synthetics, can withstand no more than 110 ° C, that is, the “first” mode. And something, perhaps, will have to be completely washed and laid to dry in the unfolded state.

The maximum allowable heating of the iron is shown by the points in the iron figure: one point - 110 ° C, 2 - 150 ° C, 3 - 200 ° C and above. On some items, you may see the familiar iron pattern, complete with a few vertical stripes under the "bottom". This symbol means "steam", and as with other processes, it can either be enabled or crossed out.

How does the label show drying clothes?

How to dry a thing after washing, the label will also tell you. Clothing that can stretch when hung out to dry must have a “dry flat” sign. It looks like a horizontal line across the square. Accordingly, several vertical lines or a stylized envelope (more precisely, a fabric “thrown” over a rope) means the ability to dry your blouse on a wire, hanger, or in any other way convenient for you.

What do the letters on the labels mean?

In addition to information about the rules of operation, any label on clothing must indicate the composition from which the item is made. This function is performed by the letters of the Latin alphabet. For example, "Co" - cotton, "Vi" - viscose, "PL" - polyester, "PA" - acrylic, "WS" - cashmere, and some other options.

Thus, when buying a new item in your wardrobe, do not rush to tear off the label. This piece of fabric will always tell you how to properly handle your clothes and help you keep your favorite item for years to come.