Recently, on a clothes shopping trip, I overheard a customer asking a sales associate what the laundering symbols on the clothes label meant. Neither could determine how the garment should be laundered other than it was not to be hand washed or dry cleaned. And of course, the final, why do they not just print it on the label? It was reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics that the average American spent $1,786 on apparel and services related to the apparel. That amount increased by $186 from 2013. That is quite an investment in clothing! I have to admit, I too, at times have to reference my handy laundry guide that I keep taped to the inside of a cabinet door in the laundry room to be certain I do not ruin a new garment I recently purchased. As much as we invest in clothing, it is important to follow the laundering guidelines to keep those garments looking new. A good practice to familiarize yourself with the symbols would be to review them as you prepare to wash and reference the guide to help ensure you have learned the meaning of the most common symbols. Below is a detailed guide to assist you from textilesaffairs.com. There is a condensed version available from Textile Affairs you can access as well.

0