Let’s face it: doing laundry is a chore. But what if you could simplify the process and ensure that your clothes always come out looking their best? The secret weapon in the battle against laundry mishaps just so happens to be your mobile phone.

Below we’ll show you how – with just a few clicks – to use your phone to help decode those often-confusing laundry labels, saving you time, effort, and a lot of frustration:

1. Take a Photo of the Label: The First Step

The easiest way to start is by taking a close-up photo of the care label on your clothes. Laundry labels usually come with a mix of symbols and instructions that with their tiny print, can be nearly impossible to read.

With your iPhone:

• Open your Camera app.
• Focus on the label to make sure the symbols are clear.
• Snap a photo.

Now you’ve got a reference you can zoom in on. This is especially helpful when you’re trying to decipher whether it’s safe to machine wash or hand wash your delicate items, or how best to dry a particular garment.

2. Use Your iPhone’s Visual Look-Up Tool

This is where your iPhone really shines. Apple’s Visual Look-Up feature lets you identify objects, landmarks, plants, and even text or symbols within a photo. To make this feature work for you in laundry care:

• Open the photo you just took in the Photos app.
• Tap the i (information) icon at the bottom of the screen.
• If the photo contains readable text or recognizable symbols, you’ll see a “Look Up” option appear.

For laundry labels, this can work wonders, especially when you’re dealing with unfamiliar symbols. While it won’t translate the entire label into plain English, it can decode whether a symbol means, for example, “hand wash only,” “do not bleach,” or “dry clean only.”

3. Use Siri for Quick Information

Alternatively, Siri can help. Just ask her directly what a particular symbol means:

• “Hey Siri, what does the laundry symbol with a bucket of water mean?”
• “Hey Siri, how do I wash wool?”
• “Hey Siri, what’s the symbol for tumble drying?”

Siri may not always be perfect in her answers, but she can point you in the right direction, often providing links to guides, or showing you quick info from the web about laundry symbols and care tips.

4. Use the iPhone’s Magnifier for Extra Clarity

Sometimes those tiny laundry care symbols are nearly impossible to read, even with a photo. Thankfully, your iPhone has a built-in magnifier that can help:

• Go to Settings > Accessibility > Zoom and turn it on.
• Once enabled, you can access the Magnifier by triple-clicking on the screen.
• Point the camera at the label and zoom in for an up-close view of the symbols.

Not only is your iPhone the perfect tool for those hard-to-read laundry labels, but you can use it to read serial numbers on products, menus in dimly lit restaurants, and more.