7
ADVICE AND TIPS BEFORE WASHING
LAUNDRY LABEL SYMBOLS
Examples of washing instructions and recommended programmes. Always follow the washing instructions for each
garment.
Laundry labels
Material
Program
Cotton, linen, white and light-coloured items.
Everyday wash 60 °C to 90 °C
Cotton, linen, cotton/polyester. Light and dark-coloured
garments.
Quick 60 °C
Acrylic, viscose, modal, acetate, polyester, polyamide
and elastane. Light and dark-coloured garments.
Easy Care 40 °C
or
Wool, silk and other very delicate garments
Wool/hand wash 30 °C to 40 °C
Here are some tips that may help you before washing.
SORTING YOUR LAUNDRY
Sort items according to:
• how soiled they are
• colour
• material
CLOTHING
1
Do up zips and close Velcro straps so that they don’t
harm fabrics.
2
New coloured items may contain excess dye and
should therefore be washed separately the
fi
rst few
times.
3
Turn delicate items inside out. This reduces the risk
of burling and fading.
4
Empty pockets and wash them inside out if possible.
LAUNDRY LABELS
Look at the item’s laundry label. The table below shows
suitable wash programmes for di
ff
erent materials and
wash loads. Using modern washing machines and
detergents, for example compact detergents, you can
usually wash at lower temperatures. It is a good idea
to use trial and error to
fi
nd out what produces the best
results.
COLOURED COTTON
Coloured cotton garments labelled with washing
instruction 60 °C must be washed at 60 °C initially to
remove any excess dye. Failure to observe this advice
could lead to the colour running.
Use detergent without bleach to preserve the colour of
the fabric.
UNBLEACHED LINEN
Unbleached linen fabrics should be washed at 60 °C,
using detergent without bleach or optical brighteners.
Heavily soiled linen can be washed at higher
temperatures, but not too often as the heat may destroy
the sheen and strength of the linen.
WOOL
These fabrics are labelled for either machine wash or for
hand wash. The machine’s Wool/hand wash programme
is at least as gentle as washing by hand.
Wool is especially sensitive to processes such as
washing. If you do not wish to spin dry, you can squeeze
out the water using terry towels. In this case select No
spin. However, most garments can withstand a short spin.
Choose a short spin by selecting a spin speed of 800 rpm
or less.
