Drying symbols

A circle inside the square means tumble drying. The plain tumble-dry symbol permits a normal tumble-dryer setting, and dots inside that circle then limit dryer heat. A crossed circle-in-square is the do-not-tumble-dry symbol . It forbids the tumble dryer, but it does not by itself name an air-drying method. Look for the garment's other drying marks before choosing one.

Lines inside the square mean natural or air drying. One vertical line gives the line-dry symbol . Three vertical lines give the drip-dry symbol . One horizontal line gives the dry-flat symbol . These line symbols do not describe dryer heat because there is no inner circle and no tumble action. Orientation and line count tell you how the item is positioned while it air dries.

This circle-inside versus lines-inside split is the most important check in the drying family. Start with it even when a dot or line catches your eye first. A square with a circle sends you to a tumble-dryer setting. A square with vertical or horizontal lines sends you to an air-drying method. The same outside square only identifies the family.

Once you have confirmed the inner circle, count its marks. The one-dot tumble-dry symbol permits low heat. The two-dot tumble-dry symbol permits the two-dot setting, called normal in ISO and medium in ASTM wording. Do not go hotter than the marked level. Like the temperature marks in other families, dryer dots set an upper choice rather than a requirement to use all permitted heat.

ASTM adds a three-dot high-heat symbol for US labels. Three dots allow high heat but do not require it. ASTM also uses a filled dot for the no-heat tumble-dry symbol . A filled dot is not a very high setting and is not the same as several separate dots. It directs the cleaner to use the dryer's air-only or no-heat setting.

A large cross across the square and inner circle overrides the dot scale by forbidding tumble drying. Do not turn that prohibition into an assumed line-dry or flat-dry instruction. Check the tag for another square with lines, or follow the other care information the garment provides.

For air-drying symbols, count and orient the lines inside the square. One vertical line means line dry. Three vertical lines mean drip dry, so the item is hung while still dripping rather than being spun or wrung first. One horizontal line means dry flat. Rotating the tag in your hand can turn vertical into horizontal, so use the printed label text or the orientation of the other symbols to establish which way is up.

Short diagonal stripes in the upper corner have another job. In both ISO and ASTM, they add a shade restriction to the natural-drying method shown in the square. They are not extra vertical lines or a prohibition cross. Check the corner marks, then read the main vertical or horizontal lines to identify the underlying method.

The ASTM do-not-dry symbol is different from all of these. It is a crossed square without the inner tumble circle. That broad drying prohibition is not the same glyph as do not tumble dry. Follow the garment's other care symbols rather than assuming a method that the crossed square forbids.

ISO 3758 defines one dot for low tumble heat and two dots for normal tumble heat. ASTM D5489 uses those same visible levels and adds three dots for high heat, a filled dot for no-heat tumbling, and the plain crossed-square do-not-dry prohibition. Those three additions are US-only in this set. The US and international comparison puts these marks beside the washing difference so you can identify which system your label follows.

ISO and ASTM share line-dry, drip-dry, flat-dry, dry-in-shade, and do-not-tumble-dry marks. ISO has no broad crossed-square do-not-dry symbol . It expresses drying restrictions with do not tumble dry plus the natural-drying symbol that names the permitted method. Region helps explain why a symbol may be missing from a chart, but the circle-versus-lines check still tells you what kind of drying instruction you are holding.