Know the signs to avoid ruining your most loved clothes

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It's easy to ignore the little white labels that seem incomprehensible on your clothes. But the laundry symbols can save you from the disappointment of a shrunken sweater, and stop your beloved outfits turning to ruined rags.

This group of UK washing, bleach, ironing and drying symbols helps you decide if your clothing is safe to wash in your washing machine, and which setting with what temperature you should use, according to supermarket laundry favourites Ariel. You should also see the symbols appear in the same order on every care tag.

A tub shape indicates the washing instructions. A triangle tells you what to do with bleach. A square symbol will instruct on how to dry the item, while an iron does what it says on the tin - ironing. There are also see the 'special care' symbols, a circle, used alone or in conjunction with other shapes.

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Here are your washing instructions, according to Ariel:

It's important to check if your clothing or fabrics can handle bleach, here's how you know:

"To prevent your garment from shrinking or becoming misshapen when drying, you can find a number of helpful symbols on the fabric care label, informing you of the most sure-fire way to dry your clothes without causing any damage to the fabric," continues Ariel.

If your piece of clothing should be handed over to a professional to be dry cleaned, the labels will tell you and will also inform the dry-cleaner what solvent to use.

A circle means that the item is suitable for dry cleaning, while the letters instruct the dry-cleaner on the required process.

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