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Plates or glasses under falling water, indicating dishwasher use.
Also known as: Dishwasher symbol, Dishwasher proof symbol, Plates and water symbol
Dishes with water falling on them mark an item as dishwasher-safe. Like the microwave mark it is unstandardised, and some versions carry extra information — an upper-rack-only indication is common and easily missed.
Indicates that an item can be cleaned in a dishwasher, drawn as plates or glasses in a square with water droplets or diagonal lines falling on them.
Contexts: Packaging
Is not a standardised symbol. No body defines it, its drawing varies between manufacturers, and its presence is the manufacturer's own assurance rather than a certification — so the absence of the mark does not reliably mean the object is unsuitable, and its presence is not a guarantee.
Stated first rather than as a footnote, because it is the most useful thing to know about the mark. Check the manufacturer's own instructions where it matters.
Contexts: Packaging
Sometimes carries a rack restriction — the dishes drawn only in the upper half of the square meaning top rack only, where the heating element is further away.
Easily missed, and the reason an item marked dishwasher-safe can still be damaged.
Contexts: Packaging
May also indicate a temperature limit in some manufacturers' versions, which is one of the reasons the mark cannot be read reliably across brands.
Contexts: Packaging
Frequently appears in a top-rack-only form, drawn with the plates or glasses in the upper half of the box. That is not a stylistic difference: the lower basket sits nearer the heating element and the spray arm, and an item rated for the top rack only will craze, warp or lose its decoration below it.
Contexts: Packaging
Certifies that the item survives the wash, not that its decoration does. Overglaze printing, gilding and hand-painted patterns fade over repeated cycles on pieces that are themselves perfectly dishwasher-proof, which is why old china is hand-washed even when its manufacturer's mark says otherwise.
Contexts: Packaging
Related forms that are not treated as separate canonical symbols — see our variant rules.
Top rack only
The plates or glasses drawn in the upper half of the box, restricting the item to the upper basket where the water is cooler and the spray gentler.
A square outline containing two or three plate and glass shapes, with short diagonal strokes or droplets falling onto them from above.
Both are unstandardised manufacturer care marks, drawn differently by different makers, and both appear on the same underside.