When buying textile products you can always see on the label a few signs that sometimes remain a mystery. In fact, this is a help for the hostess and a hint on how not to spoil the thing, extend its service life.
general information
There is an international association for signs for the care of textiles Ginetex. This association was founded in Paris in 1963 after several symposia that took place in the late 1950s. The Ginetex Association has developed an international system that is based on symbols. The icons used to indicate necessary care are registered trademarks and property of Ginetex.
Symbols for the care of textiles define the rules for caring for them and prevent their premature damage.
These symbols are always located on a separate label sewn from the inside to the product. There are five types of symbols that indicate the following processes: washing, drying, ironing, bleaching and professional cleaning. Additional symbols indicate the delicate operation mode (separate strip below), the especially delicate operation mode (two separate stripes below) and the prohibition of the operation (crossed out symbol).
Washing
Washing is indicated by a trapezoid with a wavy top line, such an icon is found on each label. The symbol usually has a number that indicates the temperature of the permitted wash: 95 ° C, 70 ° C, 60 ° C, 50 ° C, 40 ° C, 30 ° C. If a hand is drawn instead of temperature, this sign indicates hand wash at a temperature of 30 ° C-40 ° C. The wash symbol with a cross inside forbids washing the product. If additional characters are present (single or double underscore), then they indicate the above modes of operation (delicate or especially delicate mode).
Drying
Drying is indicated by a square and is divided into three types: machine drying, conventional drying and drying in the shade.
If the square is a circle, then this is a sign of machine drying and symbolizes the following:
- in a circle there are two points - ordinary drum drying;
- one point - delicate drum drying at a reduced temperature;
- a cross in a circle - a ban on machine drying.
If one or two sticks are drawn in a square, then this is a sign of ordinary drying:
- one vertical stick - drying in an upright position;
- two vertical sticks - drying in a vertical position without spinning;
- one horizontal stick - drying in a horizontal position;
- two horizontal sticks - drying in a horizontal position without spinning.
In the "drying in the shade" icon, a line is added in the upper right corner. Designations are the same as for conventional drying.
Ironing
The ironing icon looks like an iron. The number of points inside the iron indicates the permissible ironing temperature and corresponds to the number of points in the iron modes: three points - up to 200 ° C, two points - up to 150 ° C, one point - up to 110 ° C. A crossed out iron indicates a ban on ironing.
Whitening
The whitening symbol is a triangle. If it is empty, bleaching is permitted by any means. If there are two strips inside, then bleaching is allowed only with non-chlorine bleaches. A crossed out triangle means that whitening is prohibited.
