Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Laundry symbols make no sense

uxdesign.cc

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

141–150 of 237 posts

Re: Laundry symbols make no sense

#141

Post by Izkata »

kergonath wrote: post #99
kgermino wrote: post #7

Some of these are better (the bleach one being the most obvious) but most of them are worse or neutral. If I don't know what a line under the washing machine means, how am I supposed to know what the 2nd button means. The line is at least more visible. It's similar for the iron. Maybe dots as temperature isn't obvious, but it's about as clear as the thermometer, is easy to read, and matches the icons on the iron itse…

> the bleach one being the most obvious It’s really not. It looks like an Erlenmeyer flask, which could contain anything (“use detergent”? “Use additives”? There are lots of things that come up in bottles in my laundry room). I found the ones about drying to be better, probably because the original ones were way too abstract. > If I don't know what a line under the washing machine means, how am I supposed to know wha…

The washing machines in my building have the buttons in a 2x2 grid (the 4th being a "small load" toggle for reduced water usage), so it has no relation to anything here either.

Re: Laundry symbols make no sense

#142

Post by bombcar »

bzxcvbn wrote: post #135
bombcar wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect washers with heaters come from places that original had cold water only. The reality is we are overthinking it - "cold/warm/hot" is about all we need, and "warm" is really just "fill as fast as possible" often, since it opens both hoses.

The water comes out 60+°C out of your faucets?

It could, but there's a temperature control valve limiting it to 115° or 120°, I forget which.

If I wanted to bother I could run the "raw" hot water to the washer to get 140° IIRC.

Re: Laundry symbols make no sense

#143

Post by jrochkind1 »

masklinn wrote: post #128
jrochkind1 wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting! I don't believe that's how USA washing machines work, they usually just say "hot", "warm", and "cold". Apparently USAians are washing machine philistines who don't need more than three temperatures and don't know what they are? Anyway, this shows another challenge in these icons, the international diversity of washing techniques and technology. (Edit: I found one possible answer online -- Euro washing ma…

> I found one possible answer online -- Euro washing machines may actually have water heaters built in, while American washing macchines may just use the existing house "hot water supply". So Euro machines can heat to desired temp, while American ones just have to take what they get! Ah so it’s the same deal as the dishwashers, I should have figured. > Euro houses don't usually have a central "hot water tank" like US…

> might be the same as the kettle thing: the US being on 120V,

I think you could be right about washing machines/dishwashers, but as far as electric kettles... even at US 120V, an electric kettle is WAY faster at heating water to boiling than even my fairly powerful (bigger than traditional burner) gas range. (Not to mention much more energy-efficient).

I have no idea why electric kettles aren't more popular in the US.

But I never thought about the 110V/230V thing with regard to kettles. I guess even though electric kettles in the US are faster than the stovetop, they still aren't as fast as everywhere else with 230V? Maybe "faster but not faster enough" is why people still heat water on a stovetop here? I don't know!

Re: Laundry symbols make no sense

#144

Post by mook »

bombcar wrote: post #60
Izkata wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Compare to the other symbols in that set: a square refers to the drying process, with the contents being how to dry it. A circle instead of a square means no drying process, so it shouldn't get wet in the first place - hence dry-cleaning. At least that's how I see it, it could also just have been the last obvious symbol remaining after square/triangle were taken.

Since dry-cleaning isn't "dry" (it still uses liquids, just not water) it should be a simple drop of water symbol with the universal "NO" bar across it like this: https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/blue-drop-or-droplet-of-w...

That makes "do not dry clean" difficult, since it'll effectively be a double negative.

(I do think the circle is difficult, but that's probably because I don't typically wear clothes that one would think about dry cleaning)

Re: Laundry symbols make no sense

#145

Post by probably_wrong »

I wonder whether using a thermometer is a good idea. Mercury thermometers are getting harder to find, which is not great for a symbol expected to last 50 years.

Then again, maybe we have another "floppy disk" situation where the concept survives the artifact.

Re: Laundry symbols make no sense

#147

Post by mrcartmeneses »

cameronh90 wrote: post #100

So many laundry tags have OTT requirements. I have hoodies that claim dry clean only, but of course come out completely fine in the machine. Lots of bras say hand wash only but we've never had any issues with them in the machine either. Generally, we just ignore the labels and put all the clothes in a colour separated wash on the 30c daily eco cycle. If the clothes get damaged - which is rare in a modern non-agitator…

Conversely my t-shirts that claim to be machine washable shrink and need prior knowledge to keep them wearable.

The physical world is complex.

Interestingly most detergent works great at 30c. Hotter wash temps are for a time before biological enzymes were used as detergent additives.

Re: Laundry symbols make no sense

#148

Post by Melatonic »

In addition to all of these symbols I would like to see just a simple "type 1, type 2, type 3, type 4" OVERALL code added to each thing. If something is a type1 that could mean cold wash machine okay, tumble dry low, iron low/medium. A type 4 could be the fragile stuff - hand wash only cold water, mild detergent, no iron, no tumble dry. These wouldnt encompass everything but at least we could have a very quick guide to memorize.

Re: Laundry symbols make no sense

#149

Post by jrochkind1 »

bzxcvbn wrote: post #135
bombcar wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect washers with heaters come from places that original had cold water only. The reality is we are overthinking it - "cold/warm/hot" is about all we need, and "warm" is really just "fill as fast as possible" often, since it opens both hoses.

The water comes out 60+°C out of your faucets?

Shocking as it will be to you -- I'm just realizing that this differs between US and rest of world -- a home washing machine in the US can only go as hot as what comes out of the faucets. It cannot wash at 90C water, and likely can't even do 60C water. It can only do as hot as the "hot" tap water, which depends on what the hot water heat is set at, which is usually somewhere between 120F (49C) and 140F (60C).

Re: Laundry symbols make no sense

#150

Post by corrral »

b112 wrote: post #78
detritus wrote: post #9

Within a second of seeing the 'improved' ones I spot what is, to my mind at least, an immediate failure - the detail resolution is far too small. It doesn't account for the printing limitations on small fabric tags, never mind the ability of old fogeys such as myself to be able to squint that hard and actually read them. I have no idea even looking on my screen here what the difference between the first three is supp…

I really find the idea that "having to know, or lookup stuff", as a problem, offensive. Laundry is literally filled with things to know, outside of these symbols. Household tasks are. I don't see labels on bleech bottles, saying not to mix it with vinegar or you could die. Yet people have done that in the wash, so why not start there? Here's what each sane person should do, who actually takes time to look at tags. (a…

Are people seeing some huge benefits from paying attention to these symbols? I've been, as the kids say, "adulting" for some time, and pay no attention to them. I couldn't draw a single one from memory. If you showed me one, I'd only be able to guess at the meaning. All I do is not wash stuff that says "dry clean only" (it always just says it in text, I have no idea if there even is a symbol for that) and favor cooler water & cooler dry cycles. I air-dry anything wool (if it's not in the "dry clean only" category).

Color-safe detergents have been the norm since my very early adulthood. I remember ads for it when I was a kid but by the time I was buying detergent, most detergent was color safe. I've never even bothered to sort by color, aside from keeping raw denim away from everything else (on the rare occasions it's washed at all).

What am I missing out on? My family's clothes seem to last just fine. My wife pays even less attention to this stuff than I do, and everything seems OK.

Post reply on HN