Yah, I hate that, too.
As for the laundry icons, DH printed out a chart of those, and taped by the washer/dryier, since he buys a lot of European clothes (many US men's clothes don't come in a size small). However, the icons are so small, as well as the print, that if I don't have my reading glasses on, it's useless. I need to enlarge it!