Washing Machine Symbols: What Each Icon Means by Brand

What do the key and padlock symbols mean on a washing machine?

The childproof lock (key) symbol shows that the buttons are locked. How you turn it on and off depends on the brand, so the steps below are tied to the machines they come from.^{[1, 6, 2]}

• On Bosch appliances, every button on the washing machine is disabled while the child lock is on. To switch it off, hold the start button or the key button for about three to five seconds until the key symbol goes out.^[1]
• In one washer-dryer instruction manual, the key lock indicator shows the buttons are locked against accidental changes. Press Temperature and Spin speed together for about 3 seconds to lock or unlock, and switching the machine off also cancels it.^[2]
• On Candy appliances (as described in a Candy heat pump tumble dryer manual), pressing Delay Start and Drying Selection together for about 2 seconds locks the buttons, and pressing both again unlocks them. If the door is opened while locked, the cycle stops but the lock stays on, so unlock and then press START/PAUSE to restart.^[6]
• The door locked indicator, often a padlock, is lit while the door is fully closed and locked, according to one washer-dryer manual. Wait for it to go out before opening the door. In some phases the door opens only when the water is below the door edge and the temperature is under 45 °C.^[3]

Programme symbols: hand wash, steam, night wash and drum clean

Programme symbols tell you which cycle you are choosing. These are the ones documented here, with the brand or manual they come from.

• Hand wash on Candy appliances is the Wool / Hand Wash programme, for machine-washable wool, items you would otherwise wash by hand, and silk or items labeled to be washed as silk. The maximum is 30 °C. If the detergent in the automatic dosing tank is not made for wool, switch automatic dosing off and put wool detergent straight into the tray.^[7]
• Easy Iron Plus (steam cloud) on Candy appliances treats garments with steam to relax creases for easier ironing. The steam level button offers cotton (the default) or synthetic for wet garments after washing or dry ones before ironing, and delicates, which refreshes dry garments after wear so they can be worn straight away. The maximum load is 1.5 kg and there is no wash temperature.^[8]
• Night cycle in one washer-dryer manual lowers the intermediate spin to 400 rpm where applicable, raises the rinse water level and leaves the laundry soaking after the last rinse while the machine waits in pause. Press Start to finish with the spin, which can be reduced or skipped, and drain. Water in the intermediate phases is drained quietly.^[9]
• Drum clean on Bosch appliances is the programme to run, with the drum empty, if the machine or drum smells.^[10]
• Drum clean (drum with sparkles) in one washer-dryer manual cleans the drum using powder detergent only, and must never be started with laundry inside. It is suggested about every 50 wash cycles and can only be selected with the Drain & Spin programme.^[11]

Load sensing and kg symbols

Several symbols with a weight or kg mark relate to how much laundry is in the drum. Some show the machine weighing the load, while another tells you the most a programme can take.^{[12, 13, 14]}

• Kg Check on Candy appliances stays on during the first minutes of the cycle while a sensor weighs the load. The machine then sets water quantity and cycle length, controls rinsing for the fabric, adapts the drum rhythm, adds rinse water if it detects lather and matches spin speed to the load to avoid imbalance. It works only on the Cotton and Synthetics programmes.^[12]
• Kg Detector (weight with kg) in one washer-dryer manual stays lit during the first minutes of the cycle while the sensor weighs the laundry, on programmes where it is active. The machine then adjusts water, cycle length, rinsing, drum rhythm and spin speed to the load and corrects for too much foam.^[13]
• Maximum load (kg weight) on Candy appliances heads the programme-table column showing the most dry laundry, in kilograms, each programme takes. The figure depends on the machine's rated capacity, which is shown on the control panel.^[14]

Detergent drawer symbols on Candy washers

Candy washing machines mark the detergent drawer compartments with symbols, including on models with automatic dosing. For other brands' drawer markings, check your own manual.^{[15, 4]}

• Liquid detergent (automatic dosing compartment) marks compartment A of the automatic dosing drawer, which holds liquid detergent the machine doses itself. Use liquid detergent only, as powders and other additives are not allowed. Keep the drawer closed throughout the cycle and clean it whenever it is refilled or the detergent type is changed.^[15]
• Fabric softener (flower) in the standard drawer marks the compartment for softener, starch, fragrances and other special additives. Use liquid products only, as they are added automatically in the last rinse.^[4]
• On Candy models with automatic dosing, the flower marks compartment B, the tank for liquid softener. Dilute concentrated softeners as their maker directs.^[4]

Warning, favorite and Wi-Fi symbols

Some symbols flag a problem, while others give you shortcuts or remote control. These meanings are specific to the brands named.

• Water supply fault (tap) on a Bosch washing machine means the water pressure is too low, or the supply hose is blocked or kinked.^[5]
• Foam detection on Bosch appliances lights up when the machine detects too much foam during the wash, and it adds a rinse cycle automatically to remove it. Use less detergent next time with the same load.^[16]
• Favorite (star) on a Bosch washing machine saves a programme with your preferred settings. Choose the programme, adjust it, then hold the star for 3 seconds.^[17]
• WLAN (Wi-Fi) on Candy appliances is a dial position for controlling the washing machine from the app. With laundry loaded and the door closed, turning the ring here locks the door and disables the control panel, and the cycle is started from the app.^[18]
• To return control to the panel on that Candy machine, turn the ring to any other position, not via OFF. The home network must use the 2.4 GHz band.^[18]