Do not wring
North American supplementary symbol: do not wring or twist the item to squeeze water out. Wringing stretches and distorts knits and delicate weaves.
North American symbol
What to do
Press water out with flat hands, or roll the item in a dry towel and press; then dry it as the drying symbol says (often flat).
- Maximum temperature
- None stated by this symbol
- Family
- Washing (tub)
- ISO 3758 name
- None — this is a North American (ASTM D5489) symbol with no ISO 3758 equivalent
- Distinguishing mark
- crossed twist · US
Where this symbol comes from
ISO 3758 has no separate do-not-wring symbol; GINETEX folds 'do not wring' into the hand-wash advice instead.
Often confused with
Wash by hand, not in a normal machine cycle, in water no warmer than 40 °C.
Other washing symbols
Wash at 95 °C95Wash at 70 °C70Wash at 60 °C60Wash at 60 °C, gentle cycle60 + 1 barWash at 50 °C50Wash at 50 °C, gentle cycle50 + 1 barWash at 40 °C40Wash at 40 °C, gentle cycle40 + 1 barWash at 40 °C, very gentle cycle40 + 2 barsWash at 30 °C30Wash at 30 °C, gentle cycle30 + 1 barWash at 30 °C, very gentle cycle30 + 2 barsHand washhandHand wash in cool waterhand + 1 barDo not washcrossMachine wash, any temperatureempty tub · US
Sources
- Government of Canada, Office of Consumer Affairs — Guide to Apparel and Textile Care Symbols (North American system) — checked 2026-09-22
- GINETEX — Care symbols (existing care symbols under ISO 3758:2023) — checked 2026-09-22
Meanings are paraphrased from these sources, not quoted, and checked on the date shown.