Should I Repair A Clothes Dryer

A clothes dryer is no doubtfulness 1 of the most used (and most power-hungry) appliances in your dwelling. It's also essential for making sure you take clean apparel for work or school. Who has time for hanging clothes out to dry anymore?

When your dryer stops working similar it should, things tin get ugly fast. Clothes pile upwardly and soon you're wearing the same shirt to work several days in a row.

Fortunately, dryers are relatively uncomplicated machines and some of the nigh common problems tin can exist easily fixed. Below are three common problems and how to fix them yourself.

Clothes feel warm but don't fully dry out

Y'all put a load in the dryer, start information technology and walk away. You render after the cycle finishes, simply to find the clothes aren't completely dry. Maybe you just overloaded it a scrap, so you run a second, shorter bike to stop the task.

This may be the worst problem of all: Everything seems like it'south working mostly equally it should be, just the problem gradually gets worse over fourth dimension until you realize the clothes are still sopping moisture after a full wheel.

Crusade

The culprit here could be a faulty heating chemical element. If the heating element isn't working properly, the dryer volition still spin and the cycle will complete, simply it won't become hot enough to help dry the dress.

Heating elements can naturally wearable out over time, but overloading the dryer, non cleaning the lint screen and poor ventilation can all speed up that procedure.

Gear up

Fortunately, replacing a heating element isn't a terribly difficult job. Y'all can usually detect a replacement heating chemical element at a local hardware store or online by searching for your dryer model number.

Once you have the role, unplug the dryer, remove the back console, remove the connections and install the new one. Some heating elements may crave y'all to remove the existing thermostat from the onetime heating chemical element and install information technology on the new 1. Reattach the dorsum panel, reconnect power and run a test cycle to bank check for heat.

Cause

Another possible cause is clogged duct work. When was the last time you cleaned out the dryer vent anyway? No, non the lint screen -- the vent pipe.

At present playing: Lookout man this: Supercharge your dryer by cleaning its vent

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Ready

The obvious solution is to clean out the duct. Information technology'due south not as bad as information technology may seem either. CNET'south own Brian Bennett fabricated a 5-step guide for cleaning the dryer duct. This should be done every half dozen months to a year to non but proceed your dryer running smoothly and efficiently, simply also to prevent or reduce the run a risk of fire.

The drum spins, but there's no heat

It's a dissimilar story altogether when the dryer only won't go hot at all. Even when set to high heat, the dress remain wet and cold.

Crusade

A blown thermal fuse may be to blame. On newer dryers, a blown thermal fuse may preclude the dryer from running at all. This fuse is put in place to assistance prevent fires. Fuses can simply wear out on their own, but they're designed to curt at college-than-normal temperatures, which could exist acquired by a number of things. Look out for clogged ventilation, a chock-full lint screen or an overloaded machine.

Fix

To fix a blown fuse, yous must supersede it. To do that, y'all must beginning locate it. It should exist located near the frazzle duct, so you'll demand to disconnect the power and remove the dorsum console. Unscrew the fuse and supervene upon it with a new one. You should be able to find a replacement fuse at your local hardware store or online. Again, the easiest way to find ane is to Google your dryer'southward model number.

The drum isn't spinning

If you lot start a bike and hear the motor hum but the drum remains all the same, yous've got a serious problem. Fortunately, information technology could also be 1 of the easiest to prepare. Mayhap.

Cause

Belts vesture out. It'due south a fact of life, and your dryer's chugalug is no exception. If your dryer turns on just the drum doesn't spin, this should exist your first stop on the checklist.

Fix

Start by unplugging the dryer and removing the rear panel. Check the old belt for habiliment — you will probable have to remove it commencement. Some local hardware stores carry replacement belts, just y'all may accept to have them order it for yours. You can also bank check online for a replacement belt.

Once you have a replacement belt, take annotation of the chugalug routing and remove the old belt. Rout the new belt, ensuring you lot have its oriented the right way and properly seated.

If a new belt doesn't solve the problem, y'all may take a trouble with the idler pulley or motor. Changing an idler pulley is more involved than replacing a worn chugalug, just notwithstanding fairly simple to do yourself. When you're in faulty motor territory, it may be time to contact a professional.