Do you know what these washing machine symbols mean? Man reveals iPhone trick to decipher each one

By Maria Okanrende For Mailonline 14:08 20 Oct 2024, updated 14:19 20 Oct 2024

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A university student has shared a quick hack for understanding washing machine symbols mean.

London-based student organisation, Save the Student, shared a video on Instagram that tells you how to make sure your clothes are 'actually clean and don't shrink' - and all you need is an iPhone.

The laundry care symbols - which typically include images of a tub filled with water, a circle inside a square, and one featuring an X - provide instructions and guidelines on everything from washing temperature to ironing, and drying.

A study in 2022 found that the average adult annually ruins £128.99 worth of outfits due to a vicious cycle of confusion over the iconography.

Meanwhile fewer than one in seven people have said they can correctly identify common washing symbols while a third of Brits admitted they never check instruction labels.

The clip explains: 'If you're wondering what these symbols on your clothes labels means, and how to wash your clothes so they're actually clean and don't shrink then here's a little hack that will do all the work for you.

'So we all know that these symbols tell you how to wash your clothes but not many of us know how to actually read them.

'Well now you don't need to bother learning because if you take a picture of it on your iPhone and then swipe up, you'll see a button that says "look up laundry care"'.

In the video, the unnamed student picked up a grey T-shirt and held its laundry-care label towards the camera.

He then zoomed in on a piece of fabric that revealed five symbols - ones for water temperature, ironing, solvent, as well as two warnings against bleaching and tumble drying.

He also shared a number of items such as a pair of jeans, t-shirts and a sweater that he would use to demonstrate the hack.

After taking an item of clothing from the pile, he pulled out an iPhone and used it to take a picture of the care label.

As soon as the snap was taken, information about the iconography appeared underneath the picture.

He went on to say that once you select "look up laundry care"', Siri - Apple electronics' digital assistant - the phone would translate the icons into comprehendible instructions.

'So just as an example, you can see this grey t-shirt should be washed at a maximum of 40 degrees' he explained.

'And it's safe to put it in a tumble dryer - things like t-shirts are pretty obvious, but for delicates, or wool, or other more sensitive fabrics, this is super useful.

'So make sure you do this next time you put a wash on' he concluded.

The news comes as Gen Zs are hailing laundromats as their 'home away from home'.

Young people living in cosmopolitan cities have to flock to laundromats as a necessity, but many have made it their new multifaceted social space, where they go on dates and even host stand-up comedy shows.

People have have taken to TikTok to glorify otherwise average trips to do their washing - by coordinating their timings with friends and having vintage photoshoots with machines as the backdrop.

In New York, one comedy event has even hosted several shows inside La La Laundry in East Village - featuring amateur and professional comics in the unusual setting.

James, writing about her beloved local laundromat, said: 'I'm here now, crying as I type this. I'm surrounded by people who see the color of my underwear as I pull it out of the dryer. What are a few tears at this point? We're already well acquainted.'

She said that her local laundromat is the perfect place to 'slip into my subconscious mind' because of its 'familiar, sterile smell of cleaning products and metal, and the constant chugging sound of water and hot air.'

An avid people watcher, James said she fantasizes about the different types of customers that roll through the store - ranging from entire families washing their laundry, to couples standing against a machine holding hands.

'What most people see as an undesirable chore I see as a comfort zone,' said James.

'My local laundromat is open 24 hours — as all the good ones are — and any time of day or night, for the rest of my life, I know there is a place that is open and waiting for me (as long as I have a hoodie to wash).

'I've never had an in-unit washer and dryer in my many years of living on my own. And it never mattered. Because I have something rarer, more special: a home away from home.'

With the advancement of technology and the convenience of modern life, Gen Z have made it their mission to re-establish 'third places' in the cities and towns in which they live - and it seems many are using laundromats to do so.

Third spaces, a term coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg, is an informal gathering place for socialization that is not your home or work.

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