Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________ Period: ______
Directions: Fill in Part 1 and Part 2 on Day 1. Take this sheet to the laundry basket for Part 2. Fill in Part 3 during the ruin slides. Fill in Part 4 on Day 2 during the laundry sequence. Keep this sheet; it is the study sheet for the Fibers and Care Quiz.
Word bank in other languages
[Check with a native speaker before printing.]
| English | Turkish | Portuguese | Spanish |
|---|---|---|---|
| care label | bakım etiketi | etiqueta de conservação | etiqueta de cuidado |
| wash | yıkamak | lavar | lavar |
| bleach | çamaşır suyu | água sanitária (alvejante) | cloro (blanqueador) |
| dry | kurutmak | secar | secar |
| tumble dry | makinede kurutmak | secar na máquina | secar en secadora |
| line dry | asarak kurutmak | secar no varal | secar al aire |
| hand wash | elde yıkamak | lavar à mão | lavar a mano |
| iron | ütülemek | passar a ferro | planchar |
| dry clean | kuru temizleme | lavar a seco | limpieza en seco |
| shrink | çekmek | encolher | encogerse |
| stain | leke | mancha | mancha |
| detergent | deterjan | detergente (sabão) | detergente (jabón) |
| sort | ayırmak | separar | separar |
| fold | katlamak | dobrar | doblar |
Part 1: The five symbol families
Draw the symbol in the box. Write what the marks mean.
| Family | The basic shape | Draw it | What the dots mean | What the bars mean | What an X over it means |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Washing | A washtub | ||||
| 2. Bleaching | A triangle | (no dots) | (no bars) | ||
| 3. Drying | A square | ||||
| 4. Ironing | An iron | (no bars) | |||
| 5. Professional care | A circle | (no dots) |
Extra marks to know:
| The mark | What it means |
|---|---|
| A hand inside the washtub | |
| A circle inside the drying square | |
| A line inside the drying square | |
| A letter P or F inside the circle | |
| An X through the steam lines under the iron |
One sentence: why is there a care label in your clothes at all? Who put it there and who made them?
Part 2: Sort the basket
Read every tag. Put each garment under the right sign, then write it here.
| Garment | Care group (hot or warm / cold / hand wash, line dry, or professional) | The symbol that decided it |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | ||
| 2. | ||
| 3. | ||
| 4. | ||
| 5. | ||
| 6. | ||
| 7. | ||
| 8. | ||
| 9. | ||
| 10. |
Second pass. In the cold pile, separate whites from colors.
Whites: _____________________________________________________________
Colors: _____________________________________________________________
Why does that split matter? _____________________________________________
Part 3: What ruins clothes, and what it costs
| What happened | Why the fiber did that | Which symbol would have stopped it | Cost to replace |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hot water and a hot dryer on a wool sweater | |||
| A hot dryer on leggings with spandex | |||
| Chlorine bleach on a colored shirt | |||
| A hot iron on a polyester shirt |
Total damage from one bad load: $______________
Part 4: The laundry sequence, start to finish
| Step | What you do | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sort | ||
| 2. Treat a stain | ||
| 3. Load | ||
| 4. Detergent | ||
| 5. Wash | ||
| 6. Dry or hang | ||
| 7. Fold or hang up |
Daily, weekly, seasonal care. Write one thing in each box.
| Daily | Weekly | Seasonal |
|---|---|---|
One sentence: why is storing a sweater dirty over the summer worse than storing it clean?
Day 1 exit card (tear off or write on an index card)
- One care symbol you will look for tonight:
- One thing that ruins clothes, and the fiber reason:
- One question:
Teacher key
Part 1, the five families.
| Family | Shape | Dots | Bars | X over it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washing | Washtub | Temperature: one dot coolest, more dots hotter | Be gentler: one bar permanent press, two bars delicate | Do not wash in water |
| Bleaching | Triangle | None | None | Do not bleach. An empty triangle means any bleach; diagonal lines inside mean non-chlorine bleach only |
| Drying | Square | Heat level in the tumble dryer | Be gentler in the dryer | Do not tumble dry |
| Ironing | Iron shape | Heat level: one dot low, two medium, three high | None | Do not iron |
| Professional care | Circle | None | Be gentler in the cleaning process | Do not dry clean |
Extra marks: a hand inside the washtub means hand wash only. A circle inside the square means tumble dry. A line inside the square means line dry (hang it). A P or an F inside the circle tells the dry cleaner which solvent to use. An X through the steam lines means no steam while ironing.
Why the label is there: in the United States a permanent care label is required in most garments by the Federal Trade Commission's Care Labeling Rule, so the manufacturer has to tell the buyer how to clean the item. That is a consumer protection, which is why CTE FCL 4. h) is cited on this lesson.
Part 2. Answers depend on the actual basket. Score complete, partial, or missing: complete means every garment placed with the symbol that decided it named. The whites-and-colors split matters because dye bleeds in water, especially in warm water and especially the first few washes, so a red shirt in a load of whites turns the load pink; also because whites can take bleach and colors cannot.
Part 3.
| What happened | Fiber reason | The symbol | Replacement, about |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hot water and hot dryer on wool | Heat and agitation make the scales on the wool fiber lock together; the sweater felts, shrinks, and stiffens, permanently | A hand in the washtub (hand wash only) or an X over the tumble dry square | $42 |
| Hot dryer on spandex leggings | Heat breaks down the elastic fiber so it stops springing back; the knees stay baggy | A square with a line inside (line dry) or a low or no heat dryer symbol | $14 |
| Chlorine bleach on a colored shirt | Bleach strips the dye, in patches, and there is no way to put it back | A triangle with an X, or a triangle with diagonal lines (non-chlorine only) | $12 |
| Hot iron on polyester | Polyester melts instead of burning, so the plate leaves a shine or a hole | An iron with one dot (low heat) or an iron with an X | $20 |
Total, about $88 from one bad load. [Sal: use your own prices; the total is the point, not the numbers.]
Part 4, the sequence and the reasons.
| Step | What you do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Sort | By color and by care symbol; check pockets | Dye bleeds; a wool and a towel do not want the same water; a pen in a pocket ruins a load |
| Treat a stain | Pretreat before it goes in | A wash sets a stain and a dryer bakes it in permanently |
| Load | Loose, not packed | Clothes need room to move or they do not get clean |
| Detergent | The amount on the cap for the load size | Extra detergent stays in the fabric, holds dirt, and stiffens the cloth |
| Wash | The temperature and cycle the tag says | The tag is the manufacturer telling you what the fiber can survive |
| Dry or hang | The square symbol decides; hang anything with spandex, wool, or a print | Heat is what ruins most garments |
| Fold or hang up | Right away | A wrinkle set in a hot pile is an ironing job you did not have to do |
Daily: hang it up or put it in the hamper, check for a stain, air out what you wore. Weekly: the wash, and check what needs a repair. Seasonal: store it clean, folded or hung, in a closed container; check for missing buttons before you put it away.
Storing dirty: sweat, food, and body oils attract insects such as clothes moths and carpet beetles, and stains set permanently over months.
Standards checked by this handout: NYS ATPD 3. Maintenance a), b), and c); CTE SUS 1. Resources e); CTE FCL 4. Buying Goods and Services h); NYS FACS Standard 2 (Intermediate) PI C; CDOS 3a Basic Skills; National FCS 3.0 16.2.3, 16.2.5, and 16.4.3.