Lee las instrucciones de lavado; compra una ficha de lavandería.

It is most naturally a command here.

The form lee can be ambiguous by itself:

• él/ella/usted lee = he/she/you reads
• lee = read! when giving an informal command to tú

In this sentence, the context makes it clear that it is a command:

• Lee las instrucciones de lavado; compra una ficha de lavandería.

Two short action phrases placed together like this are a very common way to give instructions.

Because these are affirmative tú commands.

For regular verbs, the affirmative tú command uses the same form as the él/ella/usted present form:

• leer → lee
• comprar → compra

So:

• lees = you read
• lee = read!
• compras = you buy
• compra = buy!

A useful comparison:

• Lee el aviso. = Read the notice.
• Lees el aviso. = You read the notice.

Yes, it is understood.

Spanish often leaves out subject pronouns because the verb form and context already tell you who the subject is. Here, the sentence is addressing one person informally, so the implied subject is tú.

You could say:

• Tú lee las instrucciones...

but that would usually sound marked or emphatic. In normal instructions, Spanish simply says:

• Lee las instrucciones...

This is about definite vs. indefinite reference.

• las instrucciones means the instructions
  This suggests a specific set of instructions, such as the washing instructions on a label or machine.

• una ficha means a token
  This introduces one token, not a previously identified specific token.

So the sentence treats:

• the instructions as something specific and already available
• the token as one item you need to get

If a specific token had already been mentioned, you might see:

• compra la ficha

De lavado works like a descriptive phrase: washing-related or for washing.

So:

• instrucciones de lavado = washing instructions

This is a very common Spanish pattern:

• manual de usuario = user manual
• máquina de café = coffee machine
• ropa de invierno = winter clothes

There is no article because lavado is being used in a general, classifying way, not to refer to one specific washing event. In other words, de lavado is functioning more like a label than like a full phrase meaning of the washing.

Yes, but it is not exactly the same style.

• instrucciones de lavado is the most natural fixed expression for washing instructions
• instrucciones para lavar is understandable, but it sounds more like instructions for washing

So both can make sense, but instrucciones de lavado is the more standard label you would expect on clothing, packaging, or laundry-related instructions.

It means a laundry token or laundromat token.

A ficha is a small token, chip, or piece used for access or payment in certain systems. In this context, it is something you buy to use the machines at a laundromat or laundry facility.

A couple of things to know:

• ficha is understandable, but vocabulary can vary by country
• in some places, people may instead say token, moneda, or a longer phrase such as ficha para la lavadora

So the phrase is valid, but the exact everyday term may depend on the region.

Here, lavandería means laundromat or laundry service/business.

So:

• ficha de lavandería = a token used at the laundromat/laundry

It does not mean the washing machine itself. For washing machine, Spanish uses:

• lavadora

So compare:

• lavandería = laundromat / laundry shop
• lavadora = washing machine

The semicolon links two closely related instructions:

• Lee las instrucciones de lavado; compra una ficha de lavandería.

It works much like it does in English: it separates two complete but connected parts without making them fully separate sentences.

You could also write:

• Lee las instrucciones de lavado. Compra una ficha de lavandería.
• Lee las instrucciones de lavado y compra una ficha de lavandería.

The semicolon gives the sentence an instructional, list-like feel.

For formal singular (usted), use:

• Lea las instrucciones de lavado; compre una ficha de lavandería.

For plural in Latin America, use ustedes forms:

• Lean las instrucciones de lavado; compren una ficha de lavandería.

So the command changes like this:

• informal singular: lee, compra
• formal singular: lea, compre
• plural in Latin America: lean, compren

The accent mark shows that the stress falls on rí:

• la-van-de-RÍ-a

The written accent also helps show that í-a is pronounced in separate syllables rather than blending into one. That is why the word has four syllables:

• la / van / de / rí / a

So the accent is important both for correct stress and pronunciation.