Why is my dryer doing that?
Homeowners across the United States will agree that few things are more inconvenient than a malfunctioning clothes dryer. Clothes dryers, like numerous other household appliances, do not tend to enter a homeowner’s awareness until something goes wrong. The last thing you need is to be left with a load of wet clothes, especially if you are in a hurry. To that end, there are a number of best practices to adopt when using a clothes dryer that can extend its working life. When combined with a basic knowledge of some mechanical components of a clothes dryer and the symptoms that indicate their malfunction, the average homeowner can diagnose a multitude of clothes dryer issues. If you have ever asked yourself “Why is my dryer doing that?!?”, you might just find your answer here.
Diamond Appliance is the go-to appliance repair service for St. Louis and surrounding communities. We’ve seen it all when it comes to dryer issues; read on for our top tips:
Dryer Makes Odd Noises and Vibrates
While some noise is common when drying a load of clothes, noises that deviate from the norm are cause for concern. If you hear strange noises coming from your dryer, your dryer’s drum seal may be broken. This seal, sometimes made of felt, does exactly what its name implies: it seals in heat while also keeping your clothes safe from being damaged from contact with the edge of the drum. Two common causes of excessive wear on a dryer’s drum seal include excessive loading of the dryer and excessive contact with foreign objects. Make sure you are being mindful of how large your loads are, and always remember to check the pockets of pants and other clothing items for change and other items before washing to avoid unnecessary damage to the dryer’s drum seal.
Dryer Won’t Start or Won’t Heat
This type of issue is especially frustrating because you may not realize it until the drying cycle has completed and your clothes are still wet. If your clothes dryer runs but will not heat up, it is likely that the thermal fuse on the dryer has broken. This component acts as a high-temperature thermometer, and if the inside of the dryer reaches a temperature that is significantly higher than normal the dryer will shut off. On some dryer models, the user can attempt to start a cycle again and the dryer will run but won’t heat up. On other models, the dryer simply will not start if the thermal fuse is broken. Once broken, the thermal fuse will need to be replaced. Actions that lead to a broken thermal fuse include consistently overloading the dryer, failing to clean the lint filter, and/or blocked ventilation. By cleaning the lint trap after each use, not overloading the dryer, and conducting routine inspection and cleaning of your dryer’s ventilation ducts, you should be able to avoid performance issues related to a blown thermal fuse.
Dryer Produces Insufficient Heat
If you pull a load of clothes out of the dryer and they are slightly warm but still quite damp, there may be an issue with the heating element of your dryer. The heating element on electric clothes dryers consists of a metal wire in a coil shaped that gets very hot. When this heating element is damaged, the result can be little to no heat being transferred to the dryer drum. Replacing the heating element of your clothes dryer is likely best left to a trained and licensed clothes dryer maintenance worker. Blocked ventilation, clogged lint screens, and consistently overloading the dryer are all factors that contribute to the ultimate degradation of the heating element as well as other components of the dryer.
Dryer Starts but Quickly Shuts Off
If your clothes dryer starts but then quickly shuts off, the likely culprit may be a defective thermostat. This component acts in coordination with the thermal fuse previously mentioned. While the thermal fuse will shut off the dryer if it detects too high of a temperature, a defective thermostat may be providing a false reading of high temperature that therefore kills power to the dryer, either via the thermal fuse or other sensor. Again, blocked ventilation, clogged lint traps, and overloading the dryer can all contribute to wear and tear of the thermostat component.
By now, you may be seeing a pattern forming: clogged dryer ventilation, overloaded lint filters, and consistently overloading your clothes dryer all contribute to the wear and tear of a variety of essential dryer components. Being mindful of these practices and maintaining an awareness of the associated mechanical components of common electric clothes dryers should help you extend the functionality of your unit without the need for professional intervention.
At Diamond Appliance, we help people in St. Louis, Kansas City and surrounding communities ensure their appliances are in great shape. Proudly providing Amana dryer repair, Roper dryer repair, KitchenAid dryer repair and more. Give us a call to schedule your appointment today.
