Clean the filter (fluff, lint)
The fluff (lint) filter — or on some models the filter in the base — needs cleaning before the dryer can work properly.
What it is for
Take out the filter, remove the fluff and refit it as your manual shows. AEG says to clean it after every drying cycle and never to run the dryer without it.
Makes differ, check your machine’s manual: the same drawing can mean different things on different brands, and only your model’s manual says exactly what a programme does, how hot and how long.
- What it looks like
- A round mesh — a circle filled with a grid or dots — sometimes with a drop beside it.
- Names makers use
- Clean fluff filter (Bosch); Clean filter (AEG); Clean door filter / lint screen (Whirlpool)
Where makes differ
Bosch’s symbol covers the “fluff filter or base unit”; AEG draws a round grid; Whirlpool’s heat-pump dryer has two symbols, one for the door filter (lint screen) and one for the bottom filter. A grid in perspective or lines with an arrow is the heat exchanger, not this filter.
Often confused with
The heat exchanger — the condenser block that pulls water out of the warm air — needs checking and cleaning, or on Bosch self-cleaning models, is being rinsed automatically.
Other symbols with the same shapes
Sources
No single published standard defines washing-machine or dryer programme icons, so this meaning is taken from 3 makers’ own guides and manuals, each fetched and read on the date shown:
- Bosch: Bosch Home UK — Tumble dryer symbols and settings — Dryer display: Clean fluff filter or base unit symbol (a round mesh with a drop) — “The fluff filter or base unit need cleaning”. Checked 2026-09-25.
- AEG: AEG — LAVATHERM 7DEE835R / 7DEE832R tumble dryer user manual (PDF) — Display: “indicator: clean filter” (a round grid); do not run without a filter; clean the lint filter before or after each use. Checked 2026-09-25.
- Whirlpool: Whirlpool product help — Control Panel Symbols and Usage, Compact Heat Pump Dryer — Status symbols: “Clean door filter” (see Cleaning the Lint Screen) and “Clean bottom filter” (see Cleaning the Bottom Filter). Checked 2026-09-25.
Written in our own words; quotations are the makers’ wording.