Cooling phase (dryer)
Drying has finished and the dryer is blowing unheated air through the load to cool it and the drum before the end.
What it is for
Let it finish if you can: Bosch warns the appliance can reach high temperatures when drying, and AEG’s manual says the last part of the cycle runs without heat so that the items are left at a safe temperature.
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
- AEG: a three-bladed fan. Bosch shows the word Hot on its display instead.
- Names makers use
- Cooling phase (AEG); CoolDown (Bosch)
Where makes differ
AEG draws a fan for its cooling phase indicator; Bosch lights “Hot” for its CoolDown process and warns the appliance can reach high temperatures. On a washing machine a snowflake means a cold wash, which is unrelated.
Often confused with
The water is not heated: the machine washes at the temperature of the cold supply.
Other symbols with the same shapes
Sources
No single published standard defines washing-machine or dryer programme icons, so this meaning is taken from 2 makers’ own guides and manuals, each fetched and read on the date shown:
- AEG: AEG — LAVATHERM 7DEE835R / 7DEE832R tumble dryer user manual (PDF) — Display: “indicator: cooling phase” (a three-bladed fan); the safety section says the last part of a cycle runs without heat (cool down cycle). Checked 2026-09-25.
- Bosch: Bosch Home UK — Tumble dryer symbols and settings — Dryer display: CoolDown process symbol (the word “Hot”) — “The appliance can reach high temperatures when drying”. Checked 2026-09-25.
Written in our own words; quotations are the makers’ wording.