Do not dry clean
An ISO 3758 circle crossed out, indicating the garment must not be professionally dry cleaned.
What it means
A cross through the circle prohibits dry-cleaning solvents. The fibre, dye, adhesive or trim would be harmed by the solvents or the process, so the item must be cleaned by the water-based method shown elsewhere on the label.
What to do
Do not take the item to a dry cleaner. Follow the wash and dry symbols on the label instead, and if it also carries a do-not-wash symbol, ask about professional wet cleaning rather than improvising.
How to use this term
Use this professional-cleaning symbol when the item may need a dry cleaner or wet-cleaning specialist instead of home washing.
- Read do not dry clean with the other symbols on the same care label; the strictest symbol wins.
- Match the instruction to the garment's most fragile part, including trims, lining, prints and finishes.
- If the label, fabric behaviour and stain method disagree, test a hidden area or choose the lower-risk route.
Common mistake
Dry cleaning is widely treated as the gentle, premium option for anything nice, so when a do-not-dry-clean piece gets a greasy mark — the classic dry-cleaning job — the instinct is to rush it to the cleaner, the very route this symbol rules out. A careful cleaner may notice the label and decline or ask you to accept the risk, so its reputation as the safe choice is what makes this symbol easy to ignore.
For the broader method, use the Remove Grease and Oil Stains and then return to this term when the label changes the safe option.
Related terms
Sources
- ISO 3758:2012 Textiles — Care labelling code using symbols — International Organization for Standardization