OT: home frustrations, dryer

[DirtyRU]

Not to be a thread hijacker, but the other thread got me thinkin'... maybe I should post about my dryer. Lately it's not drying like it used to and is taking at least 2 cycles to get an average load dry, where before it would only take 1 cycle. Any obvious troubleshooting steps I should take right off the bat? Any high-probability causes or could it be several possible causes?

Not handy at all, hence the thread. :)

 

[Extra Point]

Are you bull shitting us?

 

[DirtyRU]

Ummm... Errr. Oh boy. Did I mention that I'm not handy? :smiley:

 

[DirtyRU]

Ummm... Errr. Oh boy. Did I mention that I'm not handy? :smiley:

Wait a minute... ok here we go:

http://removeandreplace.com/2013/09/21/fix-clothes-dryer-heating-drying-clothing/

 

[oldman87]

http://www.partselect.com/Repair/Dryer/Too-Long-To-Dry/

 

[czxqa]

That happened to us too. I checked the lint filter and the exhaust vent. Then I bought a new dryer.

 

[RU96inNC]

Dirty - go find yourself a used maytag neptune series front load dryer. Best machines ever......so simple but so efficient....none of his BS with all the different settings and fancy electronics which only break....push button and will last a lifetime.

 

[Knight Shift]

Try dropping a full load instead of an average load, your washer and dryer will both perform better, and you will not need to be handy.

 

[ClassOf02]

Pretty sure @FanuSanu52 has a suggestion for this one too.

 

[SouthJerseyRU]

You never mentioned what type of dryer. One problem I recently fixed on my gas heated dryer was that the heating element would glow but not spark a fire. I Googled it and found a youtube video of a guy showing how to replace the solenoids. Got the parts for under $10 on amazon and fixed it myself.

Basically any problem you have look on youtube and there is a guy with a southern accent fixing it.

Another thing, and this might sound stupid, but make sure that the clothes aren't coming out of the washer too wet. We had a problem with the spin cycle in the washer not working because of a worn plastic piece in the washer. Found the fix for that on youtube as well.

Good luck.

 

[Scarlet4Shore]

Have you ever had the vents cleaned?

 

[ATIOH]

Basically any problem you have look on youtube and there is a guy with a southern accent fixing it.

Like a cherry hill accent?

This is so true though. My wife bumped into a corroded water shut off valve and it started leaking. I called a few plumbers and they quoted me ~$150. That seemed too high plus none of them were available for a week.

I watched a couple videos of amateur plumbers from SEC country and fixed it myself. The part was $4 and it took about 10 minutes to replace.

I'm not the handiest guy, and I've done the same thing with so many projects. I'm guessing it has saved me thousands of dollars.

 

[dble00dumb]

Had a similar issue with our dryer. Turned out it was a common problem w/ the thermistor, which is a temperature sensor. Bought the part on ebay or Amazon and look up a youtube video on how to install. Total repair cost should be under $10.

 

[DJ Spanky]

Definitely check to make sure your dryer's exhaust vent is not plugged, as well as the connecting hose from the dryer to the opening. Not only will this seriously impact your dryer's ability to dry, it eats up energy and is also a fire hazard.

 

[Rufaninga]

agree with above. check lint trap, vent(vacuumed mine out), I had bad heating element. When I opened dryer it was not dry and hot. I replaced it ad it worked fine.

 

[DirtyRU]

Great responses yall. Im out of the house right now but will get.back to all of these. Thanks!

 

[RU85inFla]

Dirty, take the exhaust hose off the back and replace it. Clean the lint out of the unit in the back. Figure out how far the exhaust has to go to get from the connection at the back to the outside. I had a house that exhausted 2 floors up thru the roof. You probably need to clean this also or get cleaned.

Be careful, I once had a dryer fire because of this issue.

 

[OntheBanks]

Have you ever had the vents cleaned?

I bought this on Amazon a few years ago and I use it about once a quarter.
http://www.linteater.com/included/

You connect it to your drill and insert it in your dryer vent from the outside of the house and it spins and cleans out the vent. I suggest that you use this when the dryer is running,
that way it forces outside the lint that it cleans from the sides of the vents. It will clean a vent that's up to 12 feet long.

I also suggest that you clean the lint trap on the inside of your dryer after each drying cycle.

Really great product.

 

[Rufaninga]

I used shop vac in reverse to blow air out of dryer vents behind dryer. pushed lint up, and out of roof vent. Looked like it was snowing outside...

 

[DirtyRU]

Have you ever had the vents cleaned?

Nope. D'oh.

 

[DirtyRU]

BTW it's a GE. Gonna take some of the advice above and check things out now. Thanks all!

 

[JPhoboken]

I agree with south jersey. Put make and model number in Internet search, with basic issue like not heating and you will find fixes in many forums. Good luck.

 

[RU85inFla]

Dirty - they sell the contraption above at Home Depot. All you need is a drill. Highly recommend.

I'll bet $100 bucks it's lint build up