They have appeared on clothes labels for four decades, each one chosen by international experts for its simplicity and clarity.

    Yet for most people, washing instructions might as well be written in Martian.

    According to a new poll, nine in 10 people are unable to decipher common symbols used on clothes labels.

    Even those who have mastered the difference between a wool and a synthetics wash admit being baffled by the bewildering array of boxes, circles and crosses used to give advice about drying and bleaching.

    The findings come from a poll of 2,000 people carried out by YouGov for Morphy Richards. A third of people surveyed said that they recognised none of the six symbols shown, while the only symbol recognised by more than half of people was the iron with a single dot. Around 70 per cent knew it meant "iron on a low heat". Just 10 per cent sign knew the sign for "do not dry clean", while only 12 per cent were familiar with "drip dry only".

    Despite the sexual revolution, women are still more knowledgeable than men. Awareness was highest among 18- to 29-year-old women - for whom taking care of clothes is clearly important.

    Chris Lever, from Morphy Richards, said: "Clothes Care symbols are a unique language, clearly a language that few people in the UK have taken the time to learn.

    "Learning the basics such as which icon represents tumble dry and which represents normal wash would go a long way to getting the best out of clothes."

    The Home Laundering Consultative Council, which promotes symbols, said it was not surprised to learn that people were unfamiliar with them.

    "It's disappointing that there is a lack of recognition, but it's a story that's repeated time and time again," said a spokesman, Adam Mansell. "We are a small organisation and we don't have a big budget."

这些标志已经在服装标签上出现了40年，每一个标志都因其简单易懂被国际上的专家们精心挑选出来。

    然而，英国近日的一份调查显示，大多数人认为，这些衣物洗涤标志就像外星人的语言一样难懂。

    据英国《每日电讯报》9月10日报道，英国民调机构YouGov近日对2000人进行调查后发现，90％的人不明白服装标签上这些常见的洗涤标志的含义，即便是那些熟悉羊毛和晴纶制品不同洗涤方式的人也承认搞不清楚这些几何图形的意思。

    三分之一的被调查者表示，对于调查中给定的6个洗涤标志，他们一个也看不懂。而被半数以上的人认识的标志是那个熨斗中带1个圆点的图案，70％的被调查者知道它表示“低温熨烫”。此外，10％的人认出了“不可干洗”的标志，而认得“只可滴干”标志的人有12％。

    调查表明，女性认知衣物洗涤标志的能力比男性强，特别是那些年龄在18岁至29岁的女性，原因是该年龄段的女性在日常生活中较注重衣物的保养。

    调查负责人里弗指出：“衣物洗涤标志像一门独特的语言。很明显，几乎没有几个英国人曾花时间去学习了这门语言。其实用心了解一些常见标志的基本含义，如哪个是“转笼干燥”，哪个又是“普通手洗”，对我们保养服装大有帮助。”