What does the triangle on the tag mean: explanation and care recommendations
For some reason, the ubiquitous stains always appear on a white T-shirt or blouse. And if there is a bleaching symbol in the form of a triangle on the clothing label, the owner can breathe a sigh of relief. Bleaching significantly increases the chances of removing the nuisance from the fabric. However, there are pitfalls here too. After all, both fabrics and means for bleaching them are very different. How to figure it out and not make a mistake?
Recommendations
Since the existence of white fabrics, housewives have faced 2 problems. Remove stains from them without leaving traces and at the same time maintain radiant whiteness. In the USSR, things were bleached using folk remedies - peroxide, ammonia, soda, salt, boric acid and laundry soap.
Today there are more gentle household chemical products that work much better. The emergence of such household chemicals required clothing factories to equip their white products with markings on how and with what they can (or cannot) be bleached.
The international standard is that an equilateral triangle on the tag of a shirt or T-shirt means it can be bleached.
How does whitening occur:
- The item is soaked in warm water for half an hour. If the stain is old, increase the time to two hours.
- Add the product to the already cooled water according to the instructions on the package and leave for another 30-40 minutes.The exact exposure time depends on the type of bleach and the amount of dirt.
- Next, the item is washed in a washing machine according to the type and temperature setting indicated on the label.
There are chlorine-containing and oxygen-containing bleaches. The former are considered more effective. And the latter are more gentle and homologous. Chlorine in the product can thin out fabric fibers over time, so you should not get carried away with this product.
What does it look like
In the international standard, any manipulation of bleaching on the label appears as an equilateral triangle. But the icon has variability:
- Basic triangle icon - bleaching allowed.
- A crossed out triangle means bleaching is prohibited.
- Inside the triangle it says CL - it is allowed to use chlorine bleaches and wash only in cold water.
- A similar icon with letters, but crossed out with a cross - you can bleach with products without chlorine.
- A triangle with two stripes in the right corner - whitening only with oxygen-containing bleaches.
What not to do
- You cannot even use bleach labeled “for all types of fabric” if there is a symbol on the sweater prohibiting the procedure. Some fabrics will not survive acquaintance with it: silk, mohair, spandex.
- Do not soak items in bleach diluted with hot water. Chlorine reacts very violently at high temperatures and literally “eats” the fibers along with the stains.
- Do not wash items that have been previously soaked in bleach with other clothing.Product particles may damage the fabric.
- Only white clothes can be bleached!
What can you do
- The older the stain, the harder it will be to remove even with bleach.
- It is better to bleach items made from the same material at the same time, for example, cotton. Different fabrics, even those with a triangle on the tag, perceive the product differently.
- The amount of bleach does not affect effectiveness. More precisely, exceeding the specified grams. The instructions on the packaging are written for a reason.
- After soaking the item in bleach, you can rinse it thoroughly in cold water and then wash it in hot water. With oxygen bleach, no manipulation is needed; you can wash it right away.
Reasonable use of bleach and attention to the labels of your favorite blouses and trousers are the basis for the whiteness of things in your wardrobe.