If you’ve ever damaged clothes due to laundry label confusion, this quiz will really get your head in a spin – or perhaps you’re a Washing Wizard and you’ll score 100 per cent. Put your knowledge to the test and hopefully never ruin an item of clothing again once you’re clued up on all the washing symbols, from ‘natural dry’ to ‘steaming allowed’. It comes as research commissioned by ihateironing, which is also behind the quiz, found millions of adults admit they have no idea what the laundry signs on their clothes mean. A poll of 2,000 adults responsible for washing clothes in their home found only three per cent know the meaning of all symbols on garments, while 20 per cent admitted they ‘don’t know very many’. The ‘hand wash only’ sign is the most recognised (79 per cent), followed by ‘dry clean only’ (61 per cent) and ‘do not wash’ (50 per cent). But ‘dry in the shade’, ‘tumble dry gentle’ and ‘delicate’ are the symbols least likely to be recognised. As a result, 43 per cent have ruined or damaged garments in the washing machine, by shrinking it (78 per cent), dyeing it a different colour (48 per cent) and bobbling the material (26 per cent). While 51 per cent admitted they pay little or no attention to advice on clothing labels. Matt Connelly, founder of the on demand dry cleaning and laundry service which is celebrating its 10th anniversary, said: “Knowing how to wash your clothes is essential to keeping them in their best condition and avoiding the despair of ruining a beloved item. “As a business which has seen over one million items collected, cleaned, and delivered by our experts, we know just how much people’s clothes mean to them and the level of care they want their clothes to be treated with. “However, there still seems to be a lot of confusion when it comes to doing laundry at home around what the various symbols on clothing labels mean, leading to a lot of laundry mishaps that ruin items for good.” The study also found 38 per cent aren’t confident they know all the functions on their washing machine, with three quarters typically using the same setting each time. And 46 per cent admitted they have knowingly washed a garment which was ‘dry clean only’. Other washing faux pas included not separating white and coloured items (26 per cent) and not measuring out the correct amount of detergent (35 per cent). While 65 per cent have left items in pockets when washing clothes, 40 per cent have completely filled the machine and 31 per cent have let wet garments sit in there for hours. The typical household does three loads of laundry each week, taking an average of two and a half hours to complete each one - from treating stains to folding. The most boring parts of the process were found to be ironing (45 per cent), putting away clean clothes (36 per cent) and sorting and separating items (17 per cent). On average, those polled, via OnePoll.com, have each damaged five garments in a washing machine, leaving 12 per cent outsourcing their laundry to a dry-cleaners. Matt added: “It’s clear as a nation we don’t enjoy the task of doing laundry and ironing, and many people find the process overwhelming with all the different symbols and methods of cleaning. “While people care about their clothes, a lot simply don’t have the time to spend hours sorting through their and their family’s garments, or running several different cycles depending on what settings are needed. “We know laundry is just one task in a long list of never ending household chores which is why we’ve taken on the task of professionally cleaning, ironing and delivering clothes, saving people the laundry-symbol guessing game and the heartbreak of a ruined item.”
