How to Read a Care Label Without Guessing

Care labels are written by manufacturers protecting themselves, not by someone who knows your garment. They are worth reading, and worth reading sceptically.

The five basic symbols

Everything on a label is a variation of five shapes:

• A tub of water means washing. A number inside is the maximum temperature. A hand in it means hand wash only. A cross through it means do not wash in water at all.
• A triangle means bleach. Empty means bleach is allowed. Diagonal lines inside mean non chlorine bleach only. Crossed out means none.
• A square means drying. A circle inside means tumble dryer, and dots inside that circle indicate heat, one dot being low. A crossed out circle means do not tumble dry. Lines inside the square indicate line or flat drying.
• An iron means ironing, with dots for temperature. Crossed out means do not iron.
• A circle means professional cleaning. Letters inside tell the cleaner which solvent system to use. Crossed out means do not dry clean.

That last one is aimed at us rather than at you. You do not need to decode the letter. We do.

Dry clean and dry clean only are different

This distinction is genuinely useful and almost nobody knows it.

Dry clean only is a warning. Water will damage this garment.

Dry clean without only is a recommendation. It is the manufacturer saying this is the safest route, not that it is the sole option.

The catch is that you cannot reliably tell from the outside whether a particular garment labelled dry clean would survive water. We can usually tell by testing a hidden seam, which takes a moment. Asking costs you nothing.

The label is a minimum, not the whole story

A label describes the fabric in isolation. It does not know about:

• The lining, which may behave completely differently from the face fabric
• Trim, beading or buttons that may not survive what the fabric would
• Whether the dye is actually stable, which varies batch to batch
• How the garment has aged, since a ten year old silk is not a new one

This is why a label saying machine washable is not a guarantee, particularly on anything structured or embellished.

When the label is gone

Plenty of people cut labels out because they itch. If yours is missing, tell us what you know: roughly what it cost, how old it is, what it feels like, whether it has ever been washed and what happened. We will test rather than assume.

What you should not do is run an experiment at home on something you care about. Dye bleeding and shrinkage are both permanent.

Ask before, not after

We would far rather answer a question about a garment than try to reverse something. Bring it in or have it collected and we will look at it properly.

Call 954 983 7519 or request a free pickup. See our dry cleaning page.

La Mar 1 Hour Dry Cleaners, 6430 Pembroke Rd, Miramar, FL 33023. Family run since 1962.