Quick wash (rapid, express)
A short programme — typically 15 to 30 minutes — for small, lightly soiled loads, with a reduced load limit and usually a low temperature.
What it is for
Clothes worn once, gym tops, a few items needed quickly. Hotpoint’s Rapid 30 min takes 5.5 kg at up to 30 °C; Miele’s Express 20 takes 3.5 kg of cotton that has “hardly been worn”. Not for stains or heavy soiling.
Makes differ, check your machine’s manual: the same drawing can mean different things on different brands, and only your model’s manual says exactly what a programme does, how hot and how long.
- What it looks like
- A clock face with three short horizontal lines trailing off one side, like a clock moving fast; many dials simply print 15’, 20’ or 30’.
- Names makers use
- Quick wash (hOn); Rapid 30 min / Rapid 15 min (Hotpoint); Express 20 (Miele); Xpress Super Short, Daily Quick (Beko)
Where makes differ
hOn describes the icon as “a clock with three side lines”. Beko also sells a Quicker Wash option that shortens other programmes. Hotpoint says its Rapid 15 min is not for wool, silk or hand-wash garments. A clock without the speed lines usually means delay start or a timed programme instead.
What the makers tie to the care label
The maker’s own words, quoted from the manual cited below — not our advice. The care label on the garment comes first.
“Rapid 15 min — for washing lightly soiled garments in a short time. Not suitable for wool, silk and garments to be washed by hand.”
— Hotpoint’s manual (source). What the hand-wash label means →
Often confused with
The programme is set to start later — or, on some machines, to finish at a chosen time — and is counting down.
Other symbols with the same shapes
Sources
No single published standard defines washing-machine or dryer programme icons, so this meaning is taken from 4 makers’ own guides and manuals, each fetched and read on the date shown:
- hOn (Haier Europe): hOn — Washing Machine Symbols: how to interpret them with hOn — “Quick wash: symbolized by a clock with three side lines.” Checked 2026-09-25.
- Hotpoint: Hotpoint washing machine Quick Guide (GB, PDF) — Rapid 30 min: lightly soiled garments quickly, lasts only 30 minutes (table: 30 °C, 800 rpm, 5.5 kg). Rapid 15 min: not suitable for wool, silk and garments to be washed by hand. Checked 2026-09-25.
- Miele: Miele — Operating instructions for washing machines, WWV 980 WPS Passion (PDF) — Express 20, cold to 40 °C, max 3.5 kg: cotton garments that have hardly been worn or are only very lightly soiled. Checked 2026-09-25.
- Beko: Beko UK — WI 1382 washing machine user’s manual (PDF) — Xpress Super Short: quickly wash a small number of lightly soiled, unstained cotton garments; Quicker Wash auxiliary function shortens the wash time (“F2” lights up). Checked 2026-09-25.
Written in our own words; quotations are the makers’ wording.