Do you know what these washing machine symbols mean? Man reveals iPhone trick to decipher each one

A college student has shared a quick hack to understand the meaning of washing machine symbols.

The London student organization Save the Student shared a video on Instagram that tells you how to make sure your clothes are ‘really clean and don’t shrink’ – and all you need is an iPhone.

The laundry care symbols – which typically include images of a bathtub filled with water, a circle within a square and one with an X – provide instructions and guidelines on everything from washing temperature to ironing and drying.

A 2022 study found that the average adult ruins $128.99 worth of outfits every year due to a vicious cycle of iconography confusion.

Meanwhile, fewer than one in seven people say they can correctly identify common washing symbols, while a third of Brits admit they never check instruction labels.

The excerpt explains: ‘If you’re wondering what these symbols on your clothing labels mean and how to wash your clothes so they’re actually clean and don’t shrink, here’s a little hack that will do all the work for you.

‘So we all know that these symbols tell you how to wash your clothes, but not many of us know how to actually read them.

“Well, now you don’t have to bother learning it anymore because if you take a picture of it on your iPhone and then swipe up, you’ll see a button that says ‘look up laundry’.”

In the video, the unnamed student picked up a gray T-shirt and held the care label toward the camera.

He then zoomed in on a piece of fabric showing five symbols: one for water temperature, ironing, solvent, and two warnings against bleaching and tumble drying.

He also shared a number of items, such as jeans, t-shirts and a sweater, that he would use to demonstrate the hack.

After removing an item of clothing from the pile, he pulled out an iPhone and used it to take a photo of the care label.

London-based student organization Save the Student says Apple’s digital assistant Siri translates the symbols into understandable instructions

As soon as the photo was taken, information about the iconography appeared below the photo.

He went on to say that once you select “look up laundry care,” Siri – Apple Electronics’ digital assistant – the phone will translate the icons into understandable instructions.

“As an example, you can see that this gray T-shirt can be washed at a maximum of 40 degrees,” he explains.

‘And it’s safe to put in the dryer – things like t-shirts are pretty obvious, but for delicates, or wool, or other more delicate fabrics this is super useful.

“So make sure you do this next time you wash,” he concluded.

The laundry care symbols – which typically include images of a bathtub filled with water, a circle within a square and one with an X – provide instructions and guidelines on everything from washing temperature to ironing and drying.

The news comes as Gen Zers hail laundromats as their “home away from home.”

Young people living in cosmopolitan cities must flock to laundromats out of necessity, but many have made it their new versatile social space, going on dates and even hosting stand-up comedy shows.

People have taken to TikTok to glorify otherwise average washes — coordinating their timing with friends and having vintage photo shoots with machines as the backdrop.

In New York, a comedy event has even hosted several shows at La La Laundry in the East Village – featuring amateur and professional comics in an unusual setting.

James wrote of her beloved local laundromat: “I’m here right now, crying as I type this. I’m surrounded by people who see the color of my underwear when I take them out of the dryer. What are a few tears right now? We already know each other well.’

She said her local laundromat is the perfect place to “slip into my subconscious” because of the “familiar, sterile smell of cleaning products and metal, and the constant chugging sound of water and hot air.”

An avid people watcher, James says she fantasizes about the different types of customers rolling through the store – ranging from entire families washing their laundry, to couples holding hands against a machine.

“What most people see as an unwanted chore, I see as a comfort zone,” James said.

‘My local laundromat is open 24 hours a day – like all good ones – and at any time of the day or night, for the rest of my life, I know there is a place open and waiting for me (as long as I have a hoodie to wash).

“I’ve never had a washer and dryer in the unit in the many years I’ve lived alone. And it never mattered. Because I have something rarer and more special: a home away from home.”

With the advancement of technology and the convenience of modern living, Generation Z has made it their mission to restore ‘third places’ in the cities and towns they live in – and it seems many are using laundromats to do just that.

Third spaces, a term coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg, is an informal meeting place for socialization that is not your home or work.