How to Wash: Laundry Symbols

Most people have ruined something in the wash. A wool sweater that came out two sizes smaller. A white shirt that came out pink. A spill that set for good because the garment went in warm. The care label had the answer. It was 5 symbols and no words. Point your camera at the label. How to Wash reads the symbols and the fabric composition, then tells you in plain words what temperature to use, what cycle, what would wreck the garment, and what to do about the stain. WHAT YOUR CAMERA READS • All 40 ISO 3758 care symbols, across washing, bleaching, drying, ironing and professional cleaning. A model on your iPhone recognizes them from the photo. • Fabric composition in 7 languages. Cotton, coton, cotone, algodón and Baumwolle all resolve to the same fabric. • The temperature and cycle text printed next to the symbols. Nothing is typed and nothing is looked up. THE ANSWER YOU GET • The maximum wash temperature, as a number. • The cycle, and whether it can go in with everything else. • Bleach, tumble drying, ironing and dry cleaning, each in a sentence. • What would ruin this particular garment, said first, before the rest. STAINS, MATCHED TO THE FABRIC Generic stain advice is what ruins good clothes. Red wine on silk is not red wine on denim, and treating them the same way costs you the silk. • 60 stains: red wine, coffee, blood, sweat, foundation, sunscreen, deodorant marks, grass, olive oil, ballpoint ink, nail polish, and 49 more. • 20 fabrics, from cotton and denim to silk, wool, cashmere, suede, down and technical shells. • 50 written exception rules for the pairs that actually destroy clothes. Blood on silk gets cold water and no enzymes. Grease on wool never sees hot water. Ink on denim is lifted before it spreads. • Steps in order, with the ones that set a stain for good flagged first. • Separate methods for a fresh stain and one that has already dried in. Spilled something and you have no idea what it was? “I don’t know” is one of the 60. IF THERE IS NO LABEL Second-hand, vintage, or the tag was cut out because it itched. Start from the fabric instead and get the same answer. YOUR CLOTHES, ON THE RECORD Every scan is saved on your iPhone with its label photo, so the sweater you looked up in March is still there in November. Name the garment and the history becomes a care record for the things you already own. BEFORE ANYTHING IS SPILLED • A library of all 40 symbols, with what each one means and what to do about it. • A stain guide you can read on a quiet evening rather than in a panic. ON YOUR DEVICE ONLY Symbol recognition, label reading and stain advice all run on your iPhone. No account, no sign-in. Photos of your clothes and your stains are never uploaded. The app sends anonymous usage analytics, which record the screens you open and the steps you take, never your photos, the text on your labels, or anything you type. WORTH KNOWING • Built on ISO 3758, the international standard used across Europe and on most imported garments, plus the permanent press and tumble-heat variants on North American labels. ASTM dot notation for wash temperature is not covered yet. • Requires iOS 26 or later. iPhone only. • The advice is informational. Check the manufacturer’s instructions on the garment itself. SUBSCRIPTION How to Wash Pro is an auto-renewable subscription: US$3.99 per week or US$79.99 per year. Both plans start with a 3-day free trial. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically at the same price unless you cancel it at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your Apple Account is charged for the renewal within 24 hours before the current period ends. Manage the subscription and turn off auto-renewal in your Apple Account settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited when you buy a subscription. Privacy policy: https://howtowash.app/privacy/ Terms of use: https://howtowash.app/terms/