What the hell do washing instruction symbols mean?

Once upon a time, my husband washed the kids uniform for school. He made the very basic errors of a) not checking the washing instruction symbols properly b) not making sure that there weren’t pairs of frilly knickers hiding un-suspectingly in the washing machine drum….

The dress was a lovely checked blue….but it went into the washing machine with a rather fetching, and delicate pair, of silky red knickers…..

It came out pink, and my daughter refused to wear it ever again…and quite right too. It did look decided odd, pale pink and blue gingham isn’t really a standard colour scheme for most schools; not even those in Brighton *joke*

Ever since then, considerable notice has been taken by my other half of washing instruction symbols. The last person to make an error in the washing department was actually me. I shrank my daughter’s leotard so it now just about fits her teddy bear *oops* Nevermind, Build a Bear costumes are quite a bit of money these days, so now all we have to do is shrink my kids clothes when they are actually too small for them, and hey Presto – the perfect wear for a panda or cute cuddly frog.

It is tales like these that make us all realise that the washing instruction symbols aren’t just there for decoration, they actually MEAN something, but do you know WHAT they stand for.

Who wants to get pink school uniform and teddy bear clothes really. No, I thought not – so here is an infographic that will, I hope, stop those pink moments in your house.

This info graphic has been provided by Linens Direct

This is a sponsored post.

Photo credit winnond / freedigitalphotos.net

Helen

Helen is a mum to two, social media consultant, and website editor; and this site is (we think) the only Social Enterprise parenting magazine! Since giving up being a business analyst when juggling travel, work and kids proved too complicated, she founded KiddyCharts so she could be with her kids, and use those grey cells at the same time. KiddyCharts has reach of over 1.1million across social and the site. The blog works with big family brands (including travel) to help promote their services, as well as offering free resources to parents of kids under 10. It gives 51%+ profits to Reverence for Life, who fund a number of important initiatives in Africa, including bringing running water and basic equipment to a school in Tanzania. Helen has worked as a digital marketing consultant (IDM qualified) with various organisations, including Channel Mum, Truprint, Talk to Mums, and Micro Scooters. She loves to be creative in the brand campaigns she works on. Get in touch TODAY!