The iron without steam symbol
Two crossed-out steam lines under the iron: press it dry. The temperature is not the problem — the water is.
Iron without steam: Iron dry — steam is the problem, not the heat.
What it looks like
An iron with two short lines dropping from the soleplate, and a cross through those lines. The iron itself is not crossed out, and that difference carries the whole message: press it, just press it dry.
The mark usually shares a tag with heat dots. Read them together — the dots still set the temperature, and the crossed-out steam simply takes the water out of the job.
Why the water is the problem, not the heat
On silk and viscose rayon, a drop of steam condensate spreads outward through the fibers, carries a little dye and finish with it, and dries as a ring. That is a waterspot: sometimes it washes out, sometimes it is there for good. Taffeta and some satins mark the same way, which is why the symbol clusters on those fabrics.
The second failure is structural. Collars, cuffs, plackets, and waistbands are stiffened with fusible interfacing, bonded on with heat. Steam softens that bond, and the face fabric lifts away in small blisters across the collar point. Once a collar has bubbled, it stays bubbled — no amount of re-pressing lays it back down.
How to iron dry without a fight
Switch the steam off, then empty the reservoir. Plenty of irons dribble through the soleplate holes as they heat with water sitting inside, steam switch or not, and one drip on silk is exactly the mark you were avoiding.
Then work with a clean, dry soleplate, a pressing cloth on anything shine-prone, and a slightly slower pass than you are used to, because the heat is now doing all the work that steam was helping with. If a crease refuses to drop, dampen the pressing cloth rather than the garment — the moisture stays in the cloth and never spots the fabric.
Not the same as “do not iron”
A crossed-out steam mark is permission with a condition, not a refusal. The iron is welcome; the water is not. If the whole iron is crossed out on your tag, that is a different symbol with a different answer — no pressing at any temperature, steam or dry.
Related
Reading a whole tag, not one symbol? Tap everything you see into the decoder — it gives the careful combined plan.