Filaments

How to dry filament: temperature and time chart

Dry PLA at 40–50 °C, PETG at 60–70 °C, ABS and ASA at 65–80 °C, TPU at 55–70 °C, nylon at 70–90 °C and PC at about 80 °C, usually for 4–12 hours, in a filament dryer. Then store it sealed with desiccant. Wet filament pops, strings and prints weak layers, and drying fixes it for the cost of some electricity.

7 min read Updated October 2026 Beginner Filaments · 6 of 6

Drying filament in 30 seconds

Listen: popping or hissing at the nozzle, or bubbles in the extrusion, means wet filament.
Pick the temperature from the chart below, and check your spool can take it.
Dry in a filament dryer (or a dehydrator or printer that holds the temperature accurately).
Print straight from a dry box for nylon, TPU, PC and PVA.
Store sealed with fresh desiccant, below about 20% relative humidity.

Filament drying temperature and time chart

Ranges combine manufacturer guidance from Prusa, Bambu Lab and Polymaker. Start at the low end; use the longer time for a spool that sat out for weeks. Your filament's label wins if it disagrees.

Filament	Temperature	Time	Manufacturer examples and notes
PLA (incl. PLA+, matte, silk, high-speed)	40–50 °C	4–6 h	Prusa 45 °C / 6 h. Never above about 55 °C.
PLA-CF	40–55 °C	4–8 h	Same limits as PLA; Bambu 55 °C / 8 h.
PETG	60–70 °C	4–6 h (up to 8)	Prusa 55 °C / 6 h; Bambu 70 °C / 8 h.
PETG-HF / translucent PETG	65 °C	8 h	Bambu lists drying as required before use.
ABS / ASA	65–80 °C	4–8 h	Prusa ASA 80 °C / 4 h; Polymaker 70 °C / 6–7 h; Bambu 80 °C / 8 h.
TPU	55–70 °C	6–12 h	Prusa 60 °C / 4–6 h; Bambu and Polymaker 70 °C / 8 h. Required before use.
Nylon (PA6, PA12, CoPA)	70–90 °C	8–12 h (up to 16 if soaked)	Bambu 80 °C / 8–12 h. Print from a dry box.
PA-CF / PA-GF / PAHT-CF	80–90 °C	8–12 h	Bambu 80 °C / 8–12 h; Prusa PA11CF runs hotter and shorter, 90 °C / 6 h.
PC (polycarbonate)	80 °C	6–8 h	Prusa PC Blend 85 °C / 5 h; Bambu 80 °C / 8 h.
PC-CF	90 °C	4 h	Prusa PC Blend Carbon Fiber.
PET-CF / PET-GF	80 °C	8–12 h	Bambu.
PPS-CF	100–140 °C	8–12 h	Bambu; needs a drying oven, not a hobby dryer.
PVA / BVOH (soluble supports)	45–55 °C	8 h	Bambu 55 °C / 8 h. Extremely moisture-hungry: keep sealed between uses.

Check the spool, not just the filament. Prusa warns that older black Prusament spools loosen above 45 °C unless you screw the sides together; its newer spools (from October 2025) handle 90 °C. Cardboard spools are usually fine, but any plastic spool can warp if you dry nylon or PC on it without checking.

Do I need to dry my filament?

Not always. Fresh PLA from a sealed bag usually prints fine, and Prusa notes PLA's properties don't change much with humidity. Nylon, PVA and TPU are the materials that most often need drying. Bambu Lab lists drying as required before use for PC, nylon and PA-CF, TPU, PVA and PETG-HF, and recommended for the rest.

A good rule: dry anything that's been out of its bag for more than a few days in a humid room, any spool that's started popping, and every hygroscopic material before a long or important print.

Signs of wet filament

Popping, crackling or hissing at the nozzle, sometimes with visible steam.
Bubbles or a fuzzy, rough surface on the extruded line.
Stringing that retraction tuning won't fix. See stringing and oozing.
Weak layers that split or snap more easily than usual.
Gaps and thin walls that look like under-extrusion.
Blobs on the surface and a dull finish on filament that's normally glossy.

You dried a nylon spool at 45 °C for 6 hours, the same as PLA, and it still pops. Why?

45 °C is too cool to dry nylon; it needs 70–90 °C
Nylon can't be dried once it gets wet
The nozzle is too cold

Each plastic needs a temperature close to, but safely below, its softening point to drive water out at a useful rate. PLA's safe drying temperature is far too low for nylon, which needs 70–90 °C for 8–12 hours.

How to dry filament: methods compared

Filament dryer (best)

A purpose-built dryer holds a steady temperature and lets you print straight from the box. Check the maximum temperature before you buy: Polymaker says its PolyDryer reaches about 68–73 °C at its highest setting, which covers PLA, PETG, TPU, ABS and ASA but is on the low side for nylon and PC.

Bambu AMS 2 Pro and AMS HT

Bambu's AMS 2 Pro can dry filament while it's loaded, up to 65 °C, so it handles PLA, PETG and similar materials but isn't recommended for ABS, ASA, PC, nylon or TPU. The AMS HT reaches higher temperatures for those materials (soft TPU only as a sealed dry box, fed through its separate outlet).

Printer heatbed

On an enclosed printer, you can dry a spool on the bed: lay it flat, cover it, and run the bed at the temperature Bambu lists for that material. For PLA, Bambu uses 60–70 °C for 12 hours, flipping the spool halfway. It's slower and less even than a dryer, but free.

Food dehydrator

Remove the trays, stand the spool inside and set the temperature. It's good value for PLA, PETG and TPU, but many dehydrators top out around 70 °C. Check the actual temperature with a thermometer; cheap units can run several degrees off.

Kitchen oven (last resort)

Prusa points out that home ovens are imprecise, and many can't be set low enough for filament at all. A swing that doesn't matter for bread can turn a PLA spool into a solid puck. If you use one, put an oven thermometer inside, keep it to nylon or PC, and never leave it unattended.

Microwave (don't)

Microwaves heat unevenly, can melt spots of the spool while leaving others damp, and metal in some spool hubs or labels can arc. Skip it.

Check it worked: weigh the spool

Weigh the spool before and after drying on a kitchen scale. When the weight stops dropping between sessions, it's dry. Subtract the empty spool weight and the spool calculator will turn the remaining grams into meters, so you know whether you have enough for the next job.

Free PrintPal toolFilament Drying GuidePick your material and how long it sat out for a drying time and safe temperatureOpen tool Free PrintPal toolFilament Spool CalculatorConvert the grams left on your spool into meters of filamentOpen tool

How to store filament so it stays dry

Airtight box or vacuum bag with desiccant. Aim for under 20% relative humidity, the level Bambu recommends for TPU and engineering filaments.
A cheap hygrometer inside the box tells you when the desiccant is spent.
Regenerate desiccant per its label. Polymaker's PolyDryer silica gel turns from orange to dark green when saturated and recovers at 100–120 °C for 1–2 hours in an oven.
Print hygroscopic materials from a dry box, and put them back in it as soon as the print finishes.

How much water does each filament absorb?

Bambu Lab measures saturated water absorption at 25 °C and 55% relative humidity. Higher numbers mean the filament gets wet faster and more completely.

Filament (Bambu Lab)	Saturated water absorption
PPS-CF	0.05%
PC	0.25%
PETG HF	0.40%
PLA Basic	0.43%
ASA	0.45%
ABS	0.65%
TPU 95A HF	1.08%
PA6-CF	2.35%

Low absorption isn't the whole story. PC absorbs little water, yet Bambu still lists it as "drying required", because even a small amount turns to steam at 260–290 °C and damages print quality. Prusa notes nylon can take in water up to about 10% of its weight.

Drying troubleshooting

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
Still pops after drying	Too cool or too short, or the dryer reads high	Use the chart temperature, check with a thermometer, add hours.
Filament fused into a lump	Dried above its softening point	Lower the temperature; PLA never above about 55 °C.
Spool warped or fell apart	Spool not rated for that temperature	Check the spool; respool high-temperature materials onto a heat-resistant spool.
Wet again within days	Stored in open air	Sealed box with desiccant and a hygrometer.
Brittle after drying	Old or heat-aged spool, or over-dried	Stick to recommended temperatures and times; brittleness from age won't reverse.
Nylon or PC still wet from an AMS 2 Pro	65 °C limit is too low	Use a hotter dryer or the AMS HT.
Stringing persists after drying	Settings, not moisture	Tune temperature and retraction; see stringing and oozing.

Frequently asked questions

What temperature should I dry filament at?

PLA 40–50 °C, PETG 60–70 °C, ABS and ASA 65–80 °C, TPU 55–70 °C, nylon 70–90 °C and PC about 80 °C. Stay below what your spool can handle; older plastic spools can warp above about 45–55 °C.

How long does it take to dry PLA?

Dry PLA at 40–50 °C for 4–6 hours. Prusa recommends 45 °C for 6 hours. Never go above about 55 °C, or the filament softens and fuses on the spool.

Do I need to dry new filament?

Fresh PLA from a sealed bag usually prints fine. Nylon, TPU, PC, PVA and PETG-HF are different: Bambu Lab lists drying as required before use for these, even new.

Can I dry filament in the oven?

Only with care. Many home ovens can't hold a low enough temperature and swing well above the setting, which ruins PLA, PETG and TPU. If you must, use an oven thermometer and stick to higher-temperature materials.

Can you over-dry filament?

Yes. Too hot and the filament softens and sticks together, or the spool warps. Too long wastes time and energy, and Prusa specifically advises sticking to its recommended temperatures and times to prevent overdrying.

Stringing and oozing PLA print settings guide PETG settings guide How to print TPU Nylon, PC and carbon fiber settings