What are care symbols?
Five signs that decide how a fabric may be treated
They always appear in the same order on a label, and each one names the harshest treatment the material still survives undamaged. This page explains the five families, what dots, bars and crosses change about them, and which of it actually matters for outdoor fabrics.
What a label must carry, and what it need not
Many people assume the care label is a legal requirement. In Europe something else is, which explains why outdoor goods often carry plain words instead of pictograms.
Care symbol meaning in one sentence
Care symbols are standardised pictograms that state, for each type of treatment, the **harshest one still permitted**. They do not tell you how to wash, they mark the line beyond which the damage stays. The code behind them is ISO 3758, in its fourth edition since December 2023.
Fibre content is mandatory, care advice is not
European textile labelling law requires the **fibre composition**, online as well, before the purchase is made. Care instructions are not covered by it. A label without wash symbols therefore breaks no rule, while an offer without fibre content does.
Why the pictograms are protected
The symbols are not public property. In Europe the GINETEX association holds them as a trademark, so using them requires a licence. Smaller makers often spell out in words what a pictogram would otherwise say.
Always the same sequence
The standard fixes the order: washing, bleaching, drying, ironing, professional textile care. Once you know it, a missing symbol is obvious. Not covered are non-removable covers on upholstered furniture, mattress covers, carpets. More terms are collected in our glossary.
The five families at a glance
Care symbols explained family by family. Each has its own basic shape: the shape tells you which treatment is meant, the content tells you how far you may go.
Tub - washing
The number inside the tub is the maximum temperature in degrees Celsius. A hand in it means hand wash, 40 degrees at most. One bar underneath calls for a gentle cycle, two bars for a delicate cycle. A cross means do not wash at all.
Triangle - bleaching
An empty triangle allows any bleach, chlorine included. Two diagonal lines inside allow oxygen bleach only. A crossed-out triangle forbids bleaching altogether. On dyed outdoor fabrics this is the critical one.
Square - drying
A circle inside the square means the tumble dryer, the dots inside it the temperature. A horizontal bar in the square means dry flat, a vertical one means line dry. The crossed-out circle is the sign that applies to most outdoor fabrics.
Iron - ironing
One dot stands for roughly 110 degrees, two for roughly 150, three for roughly 200. Acrylic as well as polyester tolerate the low setting only. A cross means heat would deform the fibre or a coating for good.
Circle - professional care
The letter inside names the permitted process: P as well as F stand for particular dry-cleaning solvents, W for professional wet cleaning. A bar underneath asks for the mild version of that process.
Dots, bars, crosses
Three modifiers work across all families, which makes them quick to learn: **dots** always mean temperature, **bars** below a symbol always mean gentler, a **cross** always means forbidden. With those, almost any label can be read.
Care labels for fabrics in our range
Every order ships with written washing instructions. This table sums up what applies to the main fabric groups, and shows why a blanket answer to the washing question is impossible. How a fabric is dyed is explained under solution dyed.
| Fabric group | Washing | Tumble dryer | Main restriction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solution dyed acrylic | hand wash, neutral soap, 30 degrees at most | no | diluted bleach at one to twenty is fine, no solvents |
| Conventionally dyed acrylic | hand wash, neutral soap, 30 degrees at most | no | no bleach, not even diluted |
| Acrylic with a backing laminate | wipe down only, never a machine | no | no pressure washer, bleach below five per cent |
| Polypropylene (olefin) | machine, gentle cycle, 30 degrees at most | no | no dry cleaning, no bleach |
| Polyester with a stain-resist finish | machine, gentle cycle, 40 degrees at most | yes, low heat | never re-proof it, the finish suffers |
| Heavy polyester weaves, velvet | hand wash only, 30 degrees at most | no | do not iron, brush velvet with the pile |
| Screen weave for shading | rinse off with a hose | no | no pressure washer, little friction |
| Coated cover weaves | wipe down, never soak | no | no bleach, no ironing |
Why outdoor fabrics follow their own rules
In solution dyed fabrics the colour sits in the fibre core, so a diluted bleach solution leaves it alone. In conventionally dyed acrylic the colour sits on the outside, where even a diluted solution creates patches. Two fabrics can carry the same bleach symbol yet behave differently, because the symbol only names the limit.
Heat in a dryer loosens the finishes that make a fabric water repellent and warps laminates. That is why almost all our fabrics carry the crossed-out circle. The single exception in the range is a polyester with a stain-resist finish, and even that only on low heat.
What suits paving destroys a weave. The jet drives water through the structure, lifts coatings off, and peels the backing on laminated goods. A plain garden hose without a pressure nozzle is all a shading weave needs.
The most common winter damage comes not from washing but from residual moisture plus soiling in storage. Together they produce mildew stains. How to avoid that is set out under fabric maintenance; guidance per product sits under product care.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources
- ISO 3758:2023, Textiles - Care labelling code using symbols. Fourth edition, December 2023. Defines the five families, their sequence, the articles it does not cover. Paywalled; the catalogue entry carries scope plus exclusions
- GINETEX, the European association for textile care labelling. Holder of the trademark rights to the symbols, with a freely readable explanation of the system
- German textile labelling act, the national implementation of the European regulation on textile fibre names. Sets out the mandatory fibre content declaration
- Solution dyed explained - why the dyeing method decides bleach tolerance
- Fabric maintenance at Germes, instructions by material
- All Germes fabrics with their technical figures
Last reviewed: 24.08.2026 · Reviewer: Germes-Team
Not sure what your fabric tolerates?
Send us your order number or the fabric name. We will tell you whether a machine is allowed, which temperature applies, whether a bleach solution is an option at all.