Siemens Home Appliances
Laundry symbols at a glance
Here’s a full rundown of current laundry symbols and what they mean so you can be sure you’re giving your clothing the right care
General washing symbols.
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Do not wash Be careful whenever you see this symbol on your garments. Clothes with this washing symbol on the label are not machine-washable. Never place them in the washing machine – and do not wash them by hand. They most likely need dry cleaning (see below). |
Hand wash This washing symbol means that your garment may only be washed by hand. But don't worry, because many washing machines have hand-washing programmes that are just as gentle on your clothes. |
Do not wring If you see this symbol, you should resist the urge to twist and turn fabrics to remove excess water, because wringing could damage the fibres. Instead, gently press the fabric (or roll it into a thick towel) to remove water. |
Gentle wash, delicates and spin cycles.
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Permanent press cycle The washing symbol with a line or a dash under the tub means that the laundry can be washed with a shorter washing cycle (like a synthetic programme) and a short or low-speed spin cycle. A tub with no line means that your clothes are machine washable. You'll find this on more robust fabrics like denim. The correct washing temperature will usually appear inside the symbol (see below). |
Gentle cycle or delicates A washing symbol with two lines under the tub means your clothes need an extra-gentle wash. They should only be washed with a gentle programme (e.g. wool) and a suitable detergent. Avoid the spin cycle if possible. |
Gentle cycle with temperature A tub with one or more lines underneath and a temperature simply means that your garment should be washed gently at the prescribed temperature. Avoid the spin cycle if possible. |
Washing temperatures.
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Wash at or below 30°C This laundry symbol means that your clothing is only machine washable at low temperatures of up to 30°C. |
Wash at 40°C or below Your garment can withstand washing temperatures of up to 40°C. |
Wash at 50°C or below If you see this washing symbol, washing can be done at temperatures of up to 50°C. |
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Wash at 60°C or below With this laundry symbol, your garment may be washed at temperatures up to 60°C. |
Wash at 70°C or below This washing symbol indicates that the laundry can be washed at up to 70°C. |
Wash at 80°C or below This washing symbol allows the washing of textiles at hot temperatures up to a maximum of 80°C. |
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Wash at 90°C or below Your fabric or clothing piece can withstand extra-hot washing at up to 90°C. |
Washing at 95°C or below Your item can be machine-washed at the highest temperature: 95°C. |
American washing symbols.
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Wash at 30°C or below In the US, the tub symbol with a dot inside means that your laundry that can only be washed at 30 degrees Celsius or below. |
Gentle wash at 30°C or below If you're seeing an extra line below the tub symbol with a dot inside, that means your clothing should be washed using a gentle cycle. |
Wash at 40°C or below The washing symbol with two dots in the tub stands for laundry that can be washed at 40 degrees Celsius. |
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Wash at 50°C or below The tub symbol with three dots indicates laundry that can be washed at hot temperatures of up to 50°C. |
Wash at 60°C or below Care symbols with four dots indicate that items can be washed at a washing temperature of up to 60°C. |
Wash at 70°C or below Laundry that can be washed at up to 70 degrees is indicated in the United States by a tub symbol with five dots. |
The triangle or bleaching symbol usually comes after the tub symbol on a clothes label. It is important to know that bleaching can be done in two ways: Either with the help of oxygen or with chlorine. Each method has its own symbol. Here's an overview of all bleaching symbols:
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Bleach is allowed The triangle symbol on a laundry label means that any type of bleach is permitted. |
Do not bleach The crossed-out triangle washing symbol means that bleach is not allowed. If you find this symbol, make sure to use a good colour detergent, or one that doesn't contain any optical brighteners that will fade your clothes. |
Do not bleach This is an outdated version of the "do not bleach" symbol that you may still find on older items. |
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Oxygen/non-chlorine bleach only Two diagonal lines inside the triangle mean that you may use bleach to brighten your – just make sure that it’s a non-chlorine variety. |
Chlorine bleach The letters CL in a triangle on the washing label stand for chlorine and mean that your garment may only be whitened using chlorine bleach. |
The ironing symbol on the laundry label speaks for itself – after all, it looks just like an iron. The symbol is often supplemented by dots that indicate the maximum ironing temperature. Find them all below.
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Do not iron A crossed-out iron symbol means that it is not safe to press your item with an iron, since ironing may permanently damage the fabric. |
Do not steam-iron If only the steaming portion of the iron is crossed-out, your garment may be ironed as long as you do not use the steam function. |
Ironing is allowed An iron is the general laundry symbol for ironing and means that ironing is suitable for your fabric. |
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Iron at 110°C This iron symbol with a dot stands for extra-gentle ironing at a maximum of 110 degrees Celsius. |
Iron at 150°C The iron symbol with two dots indicates that the item can be ironed at a maximum temperature of 150°C. |
Iron at 200°C If the iron symbol has three dots, you can use a higher temperature of up to 200°C. |
An empty circle is the general laundry symbol for dry cleaning. Variations of this washing symbol provide information on how items of clothing can be professionally cleaned. Letters in the circle stand for the type of cleaning (wet cleaning, cleaning with petroleum solvents or any solvents, etc.).
As with the other laundry symbols, the lines or bars underneath specify the need for gentle care. A crossed-out circle indicates that the garment must not be dry-cleaned.
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Dry clean The circle is the general symbol for dry cleaning. |
Do not dry clean A crossed-out circle means that dry cleaning is not permitted for an item of clothing. |
Dry clean, any solvent An "A" inside the dry cleaning symbol indicates that dry cleaning is possible with all dry cleaning solvents. |
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Dry clean, perchloroethylene (PCE) The letter P inside the dry cleaning symbol means dry cleaning can be done with PCE or petroleum-based solvents. |
Professional textile care The letter F inside a circle means that only professional dry cleaning with hydrocarbons is suitable. |
Professional wet cleaning The dry cleaning symbol with the letter W stands for professional wet cleaning only. |
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Cleaning method not allowed If any cleaning method is shown with a crossed out circle, it should not be used. |
Gentle professional wet cleaning A circle with the letter W and a line below it means your item requires gentle professional wet cleaning. |
Extra-gentle professional wet cleaning A circle with the letter W and two lines below it means that the laundry item requires extra-gentle professional wet cleaning. |
The square with a circle inside is the general dryer symbol. If this symbol appears on a laundry label, the garment can be dried in a machine, unless the square is crossed out. Different variations of this drying symbol provide information about the programmes and temperature settings at which laundry can be dried.
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Tumble dry The square with a circle in the middle means that the item can go in your dryer. |
Do not tumble dry Clothing items that are not suitable for tumble drying are marked with an X symbol. Do not place these items in your dryer. |
Air drying A laundry care symbol in the form of a plain square without a circle stands for air drying. You should dry this laundry by hanging it on a (rotary) clothesline or a drying rack. |
All the threads of textile care
Explore our laundry care guide and you’ll wash everything from outdoor clothing to cotton with equal confidence.
Jeans and hardwearing fabrics
With Siemens’ intelligent sensor technology, hardwearing fabrics are easy care items. Your washing machine automatically detects the degree of soiling and fabric type, adjusting the washing temperature and spin speed accordingly. The maximum temperature and spin speed is 40°C and 1400 rpm, respectively.
Business shirts and blouses
Our special programme for cotton, linen, synthetic and blended shirts and blouses uses a shorter spin cycle to prevent creases and reduce ironing. That way you press less and impress more at work.
Sportswear and technical textiles
Functional clothing items with their modern microfibres, waterproof membranes and delicate seams are often among the more expensive items in your closet. So how do you ensure those special properties don’t come out in the wash? The Siemens sportswear, Outdoor and outdoorWaterproof programmes clean rain jackets, outdoor gear and sportswear without diminishing their breathability.
Silk and satin
Since their silky and satiny sleekness are precisely what we love so much about these delicate fabrics, Siemens has designed a gentle programme that combines a short cycle and smooth drum rotation to keep them as slick as day one.
Wool blankets and clothing
A bit woolly about how to wash this natural fibre? Siemens wool programme makes it simple. This gentle cycle includes long pauses between moving load. At the end of the program, the drum rotates slowly to prevent tangling and damage.
Ready to get proactive about programmes?
Washing machine programmes put you in charge of the cycles of life. Whether its swimwear, down jackets or business attire, there’s a programme that’s perfect for your fabrics and lifestyle.
Blouses and shirts
Especially optimised for easy-care of outer laundry. The manufacturers of non-iron shirts recommend handing up the shirts when dripping wet to achieve a perfect crease-free result. The shirts can be taken from the machine without dripping by selecting the easy-iron function. However they are wet enough to be prepared for the self-smoothing effect, so that when hung on a clothes line they start to drip. If the programme is operated with the basic settings, the clothes are spun more gently than with a normal easy-care programme, thereby reducing the formation of creases and making ironing easier.
Cottons
This basic programme is for washing hard-wearing fabrics such as cotton and linen (e.g. t-shirts, bed linen, towels and tablecloths). It is suitable for coloured laundry up to 60°C. Above 60°C and up to 90°C, it is suitable for white laundry or colour fast fabrics (e.g. work clothes).
Curtains
Features higher water levels during washing and rinsing. The spin speeds are lower than with other wash programmes and the water is quickly drained at the end of the programme by spinning, so that curtains can be hung up damp. It is designed to thoroughly remove dust particles and reduce the formation of creases. It is suitable for washing lightweight curtains as well as heavy ones.
Dark wash/jeans
Features higher water levels during washing and rinsing. The spin speeds are lower than with other wash programmes and the water is quickly drained at the end of the programme by spinning, so that curtains can be hung up damp. It is designed to thoroughly remove dust particles and reduce the formation of creases. It is suitable for washing lightweight curtains as well as heavy ones.
Delicate/silk
Delicates programme for particularly delicate fabrics such as machine-washable silk, satin and viscose. The fabrics are spun at a very low speed. It is recommended that you do not wash these fabrics together with other rougher fabrics. The use of detergent for delicates is recommended.
Down
For down-filled items. It has a special wetting cycle for handling the difficult properties of down effectively including soaking down-filled items thoroughly and preventing the formation of foam. Furthermore, the down is heated in several steps (gentle on down / down optimised) and the temperature is kept constant during the subsequent washing process. In order to ideally protect and prepare down-filled items for the recommended drying in the tumble dryer, they are spun in short intervals. Due to the frequently heavy foaming of fine or special detergents used for down, a small amount of detergent is recommended.
Drum clean
This hot 90°C cycle should be run regularly without laundry to clean and maintain the inside of your appliance. It is designed to remove any odours and residues. Add a detergent containing bleach to the drawer before starting the cycle.
Easy-care
Basic programme for washing less hard-wearing fabrics such as fine cotton, synthetic fibres or blending textiles. Suitable for shirts or blouses, but also t-shirts made of delicate cotton and coloured fabrics. Sorting according to colours is recommended.
Eco 40-60
Economically optimised cottons programme with a focus on guaranteeing maximum washing performance with minimal consumption of energy and water. To achieve this, the programme duration is longer than the basic programme.
Hygiene
Suitable for hard-wearing fabrics made of cotton or linen, this is an extended cycle that runs at a defined temperature, with a higher water level and longer rinse cycle. As a result, it meets the strict hygiene requirements of those with particularly sensitive skin.
Mix
Consists of a short wash cycle, as well as a spin cycle and is suitable for freshening up cotton or easy-care fabrics. For example, it is good forEspecially for mixed items of laundry made of various hard-wearing and easy-care fabrics.
Outdoor
Especially suited for washing weatherproof clothes, sportswear and outdoor clothing with membrane technology. It washes fabrics gently and has a spin cycle that is specially designed for predominantly water-impermeable clothes. Due to their impregnation, these special fabrics should be washed with less detergent, but more often. Use delicate or special liquid detergent.
powerSpeed 59
Allows you to wash and rinse normally soiled laundry effectively in a short time. Energy and water consumption are increased in comparison to the cottons programme due to the short programme duration. It is suitable for hard-wearing fabrics such as cotton and linen.
Rinse
For rinsing, fabric softening, starching and subsequent final spin.
smartFinish
No water is used in the innovative smartFinish programme. Instead gentle steam smooths deep creases and wrinkles from dry clothing items in just 22 minutes.
Spin
For spinning wet laundry, e.g. after rinse hold.
Super15/super30
Consists of a short wash cycle, as well as a spin cycle and is suitable for freshening up cotton or easy-care fabrics. For example, it is good for washing new clothes before wearing them for the first time. Do not exceed the maximum load size for this cycle.
Sport/fitness
Used for washing sweaty sports clothes thoroughly. Since these fabrics are generally sweaty but not heavily soiled, only short wash and rinse cycles are necessary, which is reflected in the short programme times. To prevent creases from forming in sports clothes which are predominantly made of synthetic fibres, the temperature of the clothes is lowered by adding water before the spin cycle. It is particularly well suited to microfibers and synthetic fabrics which are only slightly soiled.
Wool
Wool becomes matted when subjected to heat, moisture and movement. The woollens programme takes these qualities into account and finds a middle ground between standing still and movement so that the goal of cleaning the laundry is achieved. The use of detergent for woollens is recommended.
