Dry mode (water drop)
The unit takes moisture out of the air with gentle cooling at a low fan speed, trying not to drop the room temperature much.
What pressing it does
For humid, mild weather. Daikin’s DRY “eliminates humidity while maintaining the indoor temperature as much as possible” and only lets you set 0.5–3 °C below the room temperature at the start. Midea and Gree run the fan at low speed and lock it; Panasonic says DRY runs at low fan speed for gentle cooling, with humidity control when the fan is on AUTO.
What it does not do
It is not a humidity setpoint: none of these remotes lets you pick a target humidity, and Samsung says dry mode cannot be used for heating because it is designed to produce a cooling side-effect.
Makes differ, check your unit’s manual: the same drawing can mean different things on different brands, and only your model’s manual says exactly what a button does and which modes it works in.
- What it looks like
- A single water drop, sometimes with the word DRY. Samsung prints the word Dry.
- Names makers use
- DRY (Midea, Daikin, Panasonic); Dehumidification (dry) (Airwell); Dry (Samsung)
Where makers differ
The set temperature works differently: Daikin works from the room temperature at start (STD), Airwell and Midea take an ordinary set temperature. Daikin notes that drying is less effective when it is colder outside than inside.
Often confused with
The unit cools the room towards the temperature you set, by moving heat from indoors to the outdoor unit.
Other symbols with the same shapes
Sources
No single published standard defines air-conditioner remote icons, so this meaning is taken from 5 makers’ own manuals, each fetched and read on the date shown:
- Daikin: Daikin web operation manual — COOL · DRY · FAN operation — “[DRY] To reduce the humidity in the room … eliminates humidity while maintaining the indoor temperature as much as possible.” Set range “STD~(STD−3.0°C)”; airflow rate controlled automatically. Checked 2026-09-26.
- Samsung: Samsung — Wind-Free 2.0 air conditioner user manual, AR**TSFA*** (PDF on Samsung HVAC’s document store) — Dry mode: “Use Dry mode in rainy or humid weather … You cannot use Dry mode for heating. Dry mode is designed to produce a cooling side-effect.” Checked 2026-09-26.
- Airwell: Airwell — RC08W remote control manual (PDF) — Drop icon = “Dehumidification (dry)”; “The air conditioner reduces the humidity in the room.” Checked 2026-09-26.
- Panasonic: Panasonic — Operating instructions, CS-Z*AKUAW air conditioner (North America, PDF) — “DRY : Operates at low fan speed for a gentle cooling operation. When FAN AUTO is selected, DRY mode will operate with humidity control.” Checked 2026-09-26.
- Midea: Midea — Remote controller owner’s manual, RG51A(2)/E and RG51B(2)/E (PDF) — DRY mode (dehumidifying): “FAN SPEED cannot be changed in DRY mode.” Checked 2026-09-26.
Written in our own words; quotations are the makers’ wording.