Many people don’t know what the care label symbols mean on clothing, and just put clothes in the machine without taking notice.

However, this can ruin laundry by either shrinking or letting colours run into each other.

Salah Sun, head of product marketing at Beko plc UK & Ireland, said: “Throwing a pile of laundry in your washing machine isn’t uncommon, we’ve all done a quick drum dash without looking to see what we’re putting inside, but this can damage your clothes.

“Spending five extra minutes separating your laundry could make the difference between bright whites and red dye disasters.

“Everything you need to know about your clothes is on their labels. Knowing your symbols and clothing inside out can help you avoid laundry mishaps and keep your favourite clothes lasting longer.”

1. Washing

The washing symbol is usually the first on the care label, and it looks like a bucket filled with water.

Depending on what is inside the water on the symbol, you’ll need to wash your laundry at different temperatures.

The expert said: “If your symbol has spots rather than numbers, you can also set the temperature for your clothes.

“One dot means 30C, whereas six dots equal 95C. Washing your clothes at the right temperature is important for the long-lasting quality of your favourite items.

“Following the care label instructions can keep your outfit looking new and lasting longer, getting you more wear for your money.”

Your washing symbol may include a hand, indicating hand-wash only, while a cross through means the garment can’t be placed in the machine.

If you notice a line underneath the symbol, this means you can machine wash and permanently press, whereas two lines indicate machine wash on a delicate cycle.

2. Bleaching

Bleaching can be a good option when it comes to keeping dull shirts and socks bright, but not every item can be bleached.

There are four variations of this symbol that can appear on your care label, according to the expert.

An empty triangle means you can bleach the item, and a triangle with a cross through means you can’t bleach this item.

A triangle with two diagonal lines inside or a triangle with CL inside and a cross through means you can use non-chlorine bleach.

The expert said: “If you forget what the triangle is trying to tell you, think of a warning or a stop sign. Using bleach on the wrong items can ruin your laundry, so looking for the small triangle can help you know if you can or can’t bleach these items.”

3. Ironing

The ironing symbol is simply an iron and there are six variants of this symbol which can also be found on the care label.

The expert continued: “An iron symbol means you can iron the clothing, whilst an iron symbol with a cross through means they shouldn’t be ironed.

“You might also see an iron with a cross below it, which means you shouldn’t steam your item, but ironing without steam is fine.

“As with the washing symbol, your iron symbol can also indicate the heat level you should use. This symbol uses the dot method. 

“One dot inside your iron symbol suggests a low temperature, two indicate a medium temperature, and three recommend using a high temperature.”

4. Drying

The drying symbol looks like a square on the clothing tag, which is important if you want to know the best way to dry clothing.

An empty square indicates you can tumble dry your item on any heat, whilst a square with a cross represents do not dry.

A square with a circle in the middle with a cross through means do not tumble dry, whilst a square with a filled black circle means tumble dry with no heat.

The expert added: “As with the washing symbol, a drying symbol with one line beneath it means a permanent press, while two lines indicate using a delicate cycle.

“The drying symbol also shows you what position to dry your clothes in. A square with a flat dash in the middle means to dry it flat, like with wool items, while a square with two diagonal lines in the top left corner means to dry in the shade. 

“Hang dry is shown by a square with a semi-circle at the top, like a washing line between the two upper corners of the square, while drip dry is represented by a square with three vertical lines inside.”

5. Professional cleaning

There are 10 professional cleaning labels you may come across, but most won’t apply to home laundry.

You can recognise them by an empty circle which indicates the item can be professionally cleaned, while items which can’t be professionally cleaned will be a circle with a cross through it.