Dryer Not Drying or Taking Too Long To Dry

Dryer Tips and Troubleshooting - Cleaning your Dryer

Today I want to help you troubleshoot your dryer that is taking too long to dry your clothes.

When a dryer is taking too long to dry, people usually think that their dryer is about to go, or the heating element is wore out.  Most of the time this indicates an airflow issue.  Airflow issues with dryers can also cause the safety thermostat to trip or the thermal fuse to blow.  Usually when one of these two parts go out, it's caused by one of the three things that i'm going over today.
Dryer Lint Filter
The first thing I want to cover is your lint filter.  It is very important that you clean your dryer's lint filter before each load of clothes you dry. You would be surprised how many people don't do this.  The lint filter is where the hot damp air needs to pass through before it leaves your dryer.  If the lint filter is blocked up, air can't pass through it and your clothes aren't going to dry very well.

The second thing I want to cover is your dryer vent hoses.  I would recommend having them cleaned at least once a year.  Over time the inside of the hose will build up with lint. This lint build up will cause the air inside the venting to slow down causing poor dry times.  If the dryer venting is longer than 10 feet, you might want to clean them out every six months or so. Depending on how and where your venting is run, that's going to determine how you need to clean them out.  One thing you need check regularly, maybe every month or so is where the venting leaves the house.  You want to make sure the flap on the outside of your house is able to completely open up when the dryer is turned on.  Plus, make sure an animal didn't build a nest in there.

The last thing I want to cover is the dryer itself.  This is just as important as the first two that i've covered.  If you want to keep your dryer running effieciently you have to clean the inside of your dryer too. I'm not talking about where you put the clothes, but inside where you can't see.  The dryer isn't exactly air tight, so if you have some sort of venting issue, lint will accumulate inside the dryer and cause other problems, including dryer fires. Over time the lint will accumulate inside the bottom of your dryer and basically cover all the components with a thick layer of lint. This can cause the motor to overheat and eventually stop working. Lint can also build up on the pulleys and rollers causing them to not spin freely and you could be replacing dryer belts more frequently then you need too.

Lately my wife has been telling me that our dryer is taking forever to dry our clothes.  So I'm going to take this opportunity to show you guys how to clean the inside of your dryer.  I have an Electric Kenmore dryer, so this will apply to most all Kenmore, Whirlpool and Roper Dryers. This Video below is basically me reading this page and showing you what you need to do and check.  Remember to use common sense when attempting to do your own repairs.



If you have any questions or comments feel free to post them on this article or on the video itself.  Thanks for taking the time to read this and watch the video, I hope this helps you out with your appliance repair!
  

2 comments:

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  2. You should check the vent pipe first before troubleshooting dryer.

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