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Drying
Tumble dry, no heat

Tumble dry, no heat

An ISO 3758 tumble-dry circle with no dots (often shown as a filled or zero-dot circle), indicating tumble drying with no heat — an air-only cycle.

What it means

A dryer circle calling for no heat means the drum should tumble using room-temperature air alone. The mechanical action fluffs and de-wrinkles the load while avoiding any heat-related shrinkage or melting.

What to do

Run the air-fluff or no-heat dryer cycle. Because there is no warmth to speed evaporation, it dries slowly, so use it for finishing nearly dry items or freshening fabrics rather than drying a soaking load.

How to use this term

Use this drying symbol before choosing tumble heat, line drying, flat drying or shade drying.

  • Read tumble dry, no heat 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

Do not treat drying as a harmless final step; heat and hanging tension can shrink, stretch or set a remaining stain.

For the broader method, use the Beginner laundry guide and then return to this term when the label changes the safe option.

Related terms

Sources

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