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The domain in which a reader has the object in front of them and no manual: oven, dishwasher, freezer, washing machine, air conditioning, extractor and audio-visual controls. Members lead with what the control does and state where a marking is a manufacturer convention rather than a registered symbol, because a great deal of this vocabulary has no issuing body at all. The recurring surprises are mechanical rather than graphical — a microwave's half power is full power half the time, an eco programme is the cycle the energy label is measured on, the transport controls were designed for tape.
A line along the base of a square, heating from below only.
Lines top and bottom of a square, the default oven setting.
A marking for a self-clean cycle that burns residue to ash.
A fan setting with no heat, circulating room-temperature air.
A percentage or numbered setting that cycles the magnetron.
A leaf or ECO marking for the slowest and most efficient cycle.
One to four stars saying how cold a compartment holds.
A snowflake marking a temporary maximum-cold setting.
A marking selecting a short wash before the main cycle.
A marking leaving the load standing in the final rinse water.
A snowflake, sun, drop and fan naming the four modes.
A fan with bars showing how fast it runs.
A snowflake or small house marking a reduced holding temperature.
Triangles and bars for play, pause, stop and skip.
A filled circle meaning capture rather than play.
An arrow entering a rectangle, selecting which device feeds the screen.
Rectangles of different proportion showing how a picture is fitted.
A crescent or Z marking an automatic switch-off.
A hand above wavy heat lines, warning of burn risk.
Fan, light and speed marks on an extractor.
A diagram showing which control works which burner.
A numbered scale telling a machine how hard the local water is.
A decibel figure and class on an appliance label.
Drops, bursts and a crossed drop on an iron's controls.
A marking that lights when limescale removal is due.
A label carrying model, serial, voltage and power figures.