A woman who says she had been "ruining clothes for years" has revealed how many people could well be washing their clothes completely wrong.
Although popping clothes in the washing machine may seem simple at first glance - a question of shoving them in the drum and hitting a few buttons - there are of course a few all-important symbols to consider.
These symbols will usually be found on the label of your clothing items, letting you know exactly how you should be cleaning and caring for them. Many of us however are guilty of simply giving it a good guess and hoping for the best.
For years, one all too relatable woman had no idea what these symbols even mean but had to brush up on them ahead of launching her new fashion brand.
In an eye-opening video shared to TikTok, the fashionista - who goes by the username @nosliv.co - expressed her amazement that she'd been "ruining clothes for years", and says she wishes she'd figured it out sooner.
Sharing the first four symbols, she kicked things off by sharing four symbols which all had the shape of a bucket containing water.
The first of the four symbols had a cross struck through it, which she explains means "do not wash", while the second and third ones, which contained the numbers 30 and 60 respectively, both refer to the "maximum temperature".
The fourth and final symbol, which means "hand wash only", shows the same bucket again, but with a hand inside.
She then moved on to four circle symbols, the first of which is just a simple circle meaning "professional clean only". The second, which contained a cross, means "do not dry clean".
The third symbol has the letter 'P' in it, while the fourth contained an 'F' in it, which means "needs a professional to do this".
Going on to a new line of triangle symbols, she went on to explain that the first plain one meant "bleach", while the second one, which contained the letters CL, meant "bleaching with chlorine".
The third striped triangle symbol meant "non-chrome bleach", while the fourth, which was crossed out, meant "do not bleach".
In the caption of her video, the stylish content creator wrote: "Am I the only one who didn't know this?"
A number of followers had also been clueless about these meanings and thanked her for finally deciphering them.
One person commented: "I started doing this last year. My clothes have lasted longer now."
Another remarked: "Thanks for this because I stare at it every time I do my laundry but never have the energy to figure it out."
Do you have a clothes-related story to share? Email us at julia.banim@reachplc.com
