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Unravelling Laundry Symbols

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Great advice & customer service on the supply of our recent integrated fridge/freezer from Capital Repairs.Our old Neff integrated fridge freezer was ‘packing up’ after 15+yrs hard duty and we were under pressure to get a new one supplied and fitted quickly. They supplied and fitted the new appliance and removed the old one In less than 48hrs ! fantastic! Big thanks to the young fitter Zack he was very diligent and skilled on what was tricky integrated appliance install

Jason repaired my washing machine. Was quick, effective, thorough and definitely knew what he was doing - very helpful and considerate

I am very pleased with the. Work and advice of the engineer Jason who came today to repair my Liebherr fridge freezer. He said that there was no need to replace any part and resolved the problem

If we could give the engineer Dan 10 stars we would! Such a quick, reliable service he provided and fixed the issue with our American Fridge/Freezer so quickly. Amazing customer service! Your company should feel lucky to have him representing you.

Having had excellent and quick service from Capital who sent engineers to sort out problems with my dishwasher and tumble dryer, I decided to buy a replacement dishwasher from them too. I was able to speak to real person! Who told me what they had available, I selected and bought it and was offered delivery two days later. Kept up-to-date on the timing of the delivery and the two men who came, fitted took away the old machine couldn't have been more helpful. I thoroughly recommend this company for swift and excellent service

Dan Lewis is a brilliant engineer. A REAL engineer and just not a techie.He sorted the awful noise from my Sharp Fridge freezer which I bought from AO.com.Dan’s knowledge base is considerable and he is extremely personable and humble. Will always want him to repair my ‘white’ goods. Most grateful as he has reduced the overall noise level of the fridge freezer.

Very good follow up be email to organize the appointment; engineer came on time and repair was very quick; the only thing which could have been improved was to mention somewhere that ETA means Estimated time of arrival....it usually has another common meaning.

From the outset Rebecka was very helpful, we had several appliances to fix so it was complicated to set up. All the pricing was very clear and once booked I was kept up to date and the engineer arrived on time. Jason the engineer was able to fix most things onsite and identified the fault one the other appliance quickly. The follow up with Rebecka has been very efficient.Highly Recommended.

Home » Blog » Unravelling Laundry Symbols

Deciphering the symbols and icons associated with laundering fabrics can be tricky. Here’s a run-down of the most common symbols and their meanings, so you won’t be caught short ever again.

Ten Tips for Cleaning and Caring for your Washing Machine:

Take care of your washing machine and it will take care of you for many years! If you have any problems with your machine, give Capital Repairs a call – we’re here to help seven days a week.

Wash Symbols

The pictogram showing a bucket containing water is a basic symbol indicating that the item to which it is attached is washable.

The same bucket of water as shown above, with the addition of up to six dots drawn inside it, indicates the ideal water temperature at which the item to which it is attached should be washed. One dot means a recommended temperature of 30 degrees C; two dots 40; three dots 50; four dots 60; five dots 70; and six dots 95 degrees C.

Some fabrics have been chemically treated to ensure they don’t wrinkle, and usually they don’t require ironing. These fabrics are known as “permanent press” fabrics and are designated on the label with the normal bucket of water wash symbol, underscored with a line. The appropriate number of dots (as pointed out above) represent the required wash temperature, which in the case of permanent press is usually low.

When two lines appear below the washing bucket, this indicates that the garment is delicate and requires washing on a gentle cycle. Usually this applies to fabrics like wool, silk or lycra. The symbol also includes the recommended washing temperature, which is written as a figure in degrees Centigrade. It’s best to use a mild detergent for delicates.

This meaning of this symbol is rather self-evident. The bucket of water depicted with a hand means the item is suitable only for hand-washing only and should not be put in a washing machine. Use a suitable detergent – safe for the fabric and your hands – wash and rinse out in a sink or tub.

When you see the bucket of water icon with an X through it, it means the item cannot be washed at all and should be dry-cleaned instead. (Dry-clean symbols appear further on in this article).

Drying Symbols

This is the basic symbol which indicates any item to which it is attached is suitable for drying in a tumble dryer.

A basic tumble dryer symbol with dots added to the inner circle is designed to indicate how hot you need to programme the dryer for. One dot indicates low heat, two dots medium and three dots high heat.

The tumble dryer icon with a line underscored below it indicates that the item it is attached to is made of permanent press fabric which has been chemically treated so as not to crease and require ironing. You should use a permanent press setting on your dryer for this purpose, or in the absence of one use low heat.

The basic tumble dryer symbol with double lines beneath it indicate that you should use a delicate drying setting on your machine.

If you have an item bearing this symbol it should not be put in a tumble dryer, but rather hung on a wash line or clothes horse to dry.

Dry Cleaning Symbols

A simple circle on a care label indicates that the item is suitable for dry cleaning.

A circle with a cross through it means that the item is not suitable for dry cleaning.

If a garment has a label featuring a circle with the letter P inside it, this means it is ONLY suitable for dry-cleaning, and should not be washed at all.

A circle with the letter F inside it means the item to which the label is attached should be dry-cleaned under normal conditions with no special treatment required.

Ironing Symbols

If a fabric item you purchase bears a label featuring the stylised symbol of an iron, it means the item is suitable for ironing. Usually the symbol will contain one, two or three dots. These are to indicate how hot the iron should be when ironing the item. One dot means low temperature, two dots medium, and three dots high.