Icon – Do not machine wash

Before washing a new item for the first time, many housewives wonder: is it even possible to wash this item of clothing in a washing machine? But really, can you wash a thing in a machine or not, who can tell? Manufacturer or other consumers learned from bitter experience? A special sign that the manufacturer displayed on the clothing will tell you about this. What this sign looks like and where to look for it, we have to find out all this.

How to find such a designation?

When sewing any item of clothing, a garment factory, no matter what country it is located in, firmly sews a label made of especially durable synthetic fabric onto it. This label is painted with black paint on a white background with images of icons that determine how to care for the item. Deciphering the information encoded in the icons helps the owner of the item understand how it is:

• clean;
• wash;
• bleach;
• iron;
• dry.

Under no circumstances should you tear off or cut off labels with information about the care of items along with labels and price tags. You will definitely need this information in the future.

Finding such a label is not difficult; just quickly examine the most likely places where the manufacturer can sew it. Usually places are chosen where this label will be invisible and will not interfere with wearing the item of clothing. For example, on blouses, sweaters, T-shirts, and shirts, a label with badges can be found in the collar area or at the waistband on the reverse side. On pants and trousers, a piece of fabric with valuable information can be found near the slotted part on the reverse side, etc.

Once you find a shortcut, carefully study the icons that are depicted on it.It’s quite difficult to immediately figure out what they mean; you’ll have to look for a special table that will help decipher the meaning of each sign. But at the moment we are interested in the machine washing prohibited icon, so we’ll talk about it.

What does he look like?

An icon prohibiting washing an item in an automatic or semi-automatic washing machine is depicted by the manufacturer on labels in cases where the item of clothing can only be washed by hand, or if it can only be dry cleaned. In the first case, our icon complements the familiar sign, which is a drawing of a basin with water and a hand lowered into it - “hand wash”, and in the second case, a basin with water crossed out crosswise - “washing is prohibited”.

If the item can still be washed by hand, then the manufacturer is being disingenuous by categorically prohibiting machine washing, because modern automatic washing machines have a special “Hand Wash” mode. Having this mode, you don’t have to wash it by hand, the machine will do everything for you, and such a procedure will not cause any harm to the item.

In the picture above you can see a close-up of a sign prohibiting washing an item of clothing in a washing machine. This image, it should be noted, is very spacious, a rectangle in a circle. Without knowing how such an icon is deciphered, it is very difficult to guess that we are talking about a ban on washing in a washing machine.

How to do without automatic washing?

As we noted above, if the manufacturer allows hand washing, this does not mean that the item cannot be washed in automatic mode; you just need to use the “Hand Wash” program. However, more often, the above icon can be seen on things that should not be wetted with water at all.

Strictly speaking, things that the manufacturer recommends only for cleaning can be treated with a damp cloth or a dampened brush, but under no circumstances should they be soaked or put in the washing machine.

What to do in this case? How to dry clean an item to remove all stains and generally freshen it up?

1. You can buy a special kit for dry cleaning clothes. The set is selected depending on the type of fabric and taking into account other features of the item. In the set you will find: a bottle containing a detergent spray, a special cloth, sheets of special paper and a special bag. Instructions for dry cleaning with this kit can be found on the box in which the kit is packaged.
2. If an item is heavily soiled, there is little point in cleaning it at home: firstly, it will not be possible to clean it without professional means, and secondly, you can completely ruin the item of clothing. Use dry cleaning services.
3. Treat stains with a stain remover, which should be tested in advance on an inconspicuous part of the garment. Cover the item with cling paper and then pack it in a plastic bag, which you hang about 1 meter from the radiator. After a day, take out the item and evaluate the result; you may have to additionally use a brush or cloth, but most of the dirt will be removed.

To summarize, we note that you have learned what the icon on clothing looks like, which briefly stands for “Do not machine wash.” But in order not to spoil the clothes, you need to know the decoding of other signs that are left on the label by the manufacturer. You can read about them in the article Signs on clothes for washing. Don't stop there, continue to study the badges and the chances that you will ruin your favorite clothes due to improper care will be much less. Good luck!

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