Only 3% of Britons know the washing symbols on their clothes

A whopping ninety-seven percent of Britons cannot read how to do laundry and cannot read washing instructions.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a ‘Laundry Legend’ or a ‘Total Washout’ when it comes to laundry expertise.

Have you ever damaged your clothes because you didn’t read the care labels properly? Then this quiz will definitely throw you off track. But maybe you are a ‘laundry genius’ and score 100 percent.

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Use your knowledge for the test and find out if you are aware of washing symbols, from ‘natural drying’ to ‘dry clean allowed’.

Research commissioned by i hate ironingwho conducted the quiz found that millions of adults admit they have no idea what the washing symbols on their clothes mean.

A survey of 2,000 adults responsible for washing their own clothes found that only three percent understand all the symbols on garments, while 20 percent admit to “not knowing very many of them”.

The ‘hand wash only’ symbol is the most recognized, with 79 percent. 61 percent recognize ‘dry clean only’ and only 50 percent know the ‘do not wash’ symbol.

However, the symbols ‘dry in shade’, ‘tumble dry on gentle setting’ and ‘delicate’ are the least likely to be recognised.

43 percent of respondents reported damage to or destruction of clothing in the washing machine.

About 78 percent have shrunk their clothes, 48 ​​percent have dyed them a different color and 26 percent have let the fabric bubble.

Just over half admit that they pay little or no attention to the 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 the best condition and avoiding the despair of ruining a much-loved item.

“As a company, our experts have already collected, cleaned and delivered over a million items.

“We know how much people’s clothes mean to them and how much care they want their clothes to receive.

“However, there still seems to be a lot of confusion when it comes to washing clothes at home, about the meaning of the different symbols on clothing labels.

“This leads to many laundry accidents that ruin the laundry forever.”

The research also found that 38 percent are unsure of all the functions their washing machine has, while three quarters use the same setting every time.

And 46 percent admitted to deliberately washing an item of clothing that was supposed to be dry-cleaned only.

Other washing mistakes included not separating whites from colours and not measuring the correct amount of detergent.

65 percent leave clothes in pockets during washing, 40 percent let the machine fill up completely and 31 percent leave wet clothes in the washing machine for hours.

The average household does three loads of laundry per week. Each load takes an average of two and a half hours, from treating stains to folding.

The most boring parts of laundry were ironing, putting away clean clothes, and sorting and separating garments.

On average, respondents polled via OnePoll.com damaged five items of clothing in the washing machine. 12 percent outsource their laundry to a dry cleaner.

Matt added: “It’s clear that as a nation we don’t enjoy the task of washing and ironing. Many people find the process overwhelming because of all the different symbols and cleaning methods.

“Although people value their clothes, many simply don’t have the time to spend hours sorting their own and their family’s clothes, or to run multiple wash cycles.

“We know that laundry is just one task in a long list of endless household chores. That’s why we’ve taken on the task of professionally cleaning, ironing and delivering clothes. This way, we spare people the guessing game of laundry symbols and the heartbreaking consequences of a damaged garment.”