>U Mom Knows Best: How To Fix A Heating Problem On a Broken Dryer

Monday, May 10, 2021

How To Fix A Heating Problem On a Broken Dryer

 Fixing my broken dryer was simpler than I imagined. I am glad that I decided to try and fix my dryer before I replaced it. 

 A couple of weeks ago my dryer decided to stop working. I found that my dryer was broken after my son told me that his clothes in the dryer were still wet. He asked me if I had forgotten to start the dryer before going to bed. Yes, I have placed clothes into the dryer and never pressed the on button but this time I knew that I started the dryer. I told my son to start the dryer again and was glad that he had 30 minutes before he had to leave for school. 

 The dryer started tumbling again. Twenty minutes later I went to check on the clothes in the dryer and they were still wet. The clothes were cold. My teen son was not happy when I told him he would have to wear different clothes. After the boys left for school, I decided to take a look at the broken dryer. I examined the dryer lint trap and discover that it was filled with tons of lint. So upon emptying the dryer lint device, I discovered an abundance of dryer lint below that. 

 So thinking that my broken dryer problem may be caused by an excess of dryer lint, I unscrewed the screws that held the dryer lint vent in place and cleaned out all the dryer lint. Read here about how to clean the dryer lint in your dryer as it is important to do. Did you know that an excess of dryer lint build-up could start a fire in the dryer?

 Cleaning the dryer lint did not fix the heating problem in my dryer. The dryer was only 4 years old and I was not ready to shell out the money for a new dryer. The other problem is I have a small laundry room that is also the way to get into the garage and the newer dryers don't fit in the space. The last time I replaced the dryer, only one dryer fitted. So if I was not going to get a new fancy dryer, I was not excited to shop for a new dryer.

Five signs you need to clean your dryer vent

+ Drying clothes take longer. A clogged dryer vent could mean the clothes take longer to dry.
+ A burning smell.
+ A very hot dryer.
+ Lint coming from the dryer vent outside your house
+ You have not cleaned the dryer vent for over a year

Fixing a broken dryer is better for the environment

So I decided that I would see if I could repair my broken dryer myself, with my husband's help. I also knew that fixing a damaged dryer is better for the environment. So I headed online to search for reasons why my dryer was not drying my clothes. I discovered an amazing appliance repair website that not only helped me figure out the cause of my broken dryer but how to fix a broken dryer. This large appliance repair shop had everything that I needed to fix my dryer without having to call an expensive repair technician. The appliance part store had all the manuals and diagrams for all the major brands like Maytag, Samsung, Kenmore, Whirlpool, and more. The best part was I could order the dryer parts online!

Things that indicated problems with my dryer before it stopped working

 I should have seen the signs that my dryer was not functioning properly before it broke. I was just relieved that my dryer did not cause a fire in my house. Looking back, there were several indications that my dryer needed repairing but I did not see them.

+ The clothes took 2 cycles to dry

+ There was lint under the lint trap

+ The dryer was making very loud noises

No heat or not enough heat

 Since my dryer was still tumbling, my research indicated that that the problem could be broken heating fuses or a heating element. The dryer repair website had a video that showed how to test the dryer fuses and heating elements. Watching the video and looking at diagrams of my dryer model gave my husband the confidence to repair the dryer. 

 A couple of screws and removing of some dryer panels was all it took to locate the heating element and fuses. Then we used a multimeter to check if those dryer parts were functioning. The fuses were fine but the dryer heating element was not giving a reading on the multimeter. So my husband looked at the dryer diagrams on the website and knew that he could easily replace the heating element. So I ordered a new dryer heating element. This part was less than a hundred dollars! Much cheaper than calling a repair tech to even look at my dryer. 

How to repair your dryer

 The Dryer Parts, (heating element and fuses), took a couple days to arrive. I paid for expedited shipping so I did not have to visit a laundromat. I knew that the dirty clothes would start piling up quickly with 5 people in the house. When the part arrived, it took my husband about 30 minutes to install the part and put the dryer back together. I did not even hear him complain once.

 With all the resources on Sears PartsDirect, my husband was able to easily fix the broken dryer. The only somewhat difficult part was removing the heating element from the heating element housing. The heating element was tightly wedged inside the house and my husband needed me to hammer it out while he held the metal housing. I was outside while my husband installed the new heating element and put the dryer back together. So he did not even need my help.


Sears PartsDirect offers:

+ Tips to help you figure out what may be wrong with your large appliance
+ Manuals and diagrams to help you locate the faulty part
+ Pictures and videos to help you understand the appliance repair
+ Step-by-step repair guides to help you fix your appliance
+ Articles and videos that show you how to fix your appliance
+ Parts that you need to purchase to fix your appliance

Common Broken Dryer Symptoms

While the issue with my broken dryer was it not heating up and the solution was a new dryer heating element. There are many other reasons why your dryer may not be working. Sears PartsDirect can help you figure out what may be wrong with your dryer or any other large appliance. The below list offers some other reasons to why your dryer may not be working. Sears has step-by-step guides and parts to solve these dryer issues.

Some common broken dryer symptoms

+ Noisy

+ Will not start

+ Will not heat 

+Will not tumble

+ Will not shut off

+ Shuts off too soon

+ Too hot

The dangers of dryer lint

 After fixing my dryer and being thankful that I did not have to spend over $600 for a new dryer, I am also thankful that my dryer did not catch on fire. When my husband was fixing the dryer, he discovered a huge amount of dryer lint inside the dryer cabinet and burnt dryer lint near the heating element. This amount of dryer lint should have caused a fire.

 My husband also noticed that the seal around the front dryer panel with the dryer lint catcher was broken. So this was allowing the dryer lint to escape from the dryer lint catcher and go inside the dryer cabinet. While I was cleaning out the dryer lint catcher for every dryer load, I did not realize that lint was escaping due to the broken seal. My husband fixed that seal when he fixed the dryer.

 So make sure to empty the dryer catcher after every load of clothes. An accumulation of dryer lint can start a fire. I should have seen the signs like dryer lint under the dryer lint catcher but I thought that it was normal to have to clean out the lint from under the dryer lint catcher. Look at the below list to see if your dryer lint catcher maybe not working properly.

Signs your dryer vent lint catcher is broken

+ Drying clothes take longer. A clogged dryer vent could mean the clothes take longer to dry.
+ A burning smell.
+ A very hot dryer.
+ Lint coming from the dryer vent outside your house

How to repair and not replace your dryer

 So if your dryer or any other large appliance is not working. I highly recommend that you take a look at Sears PartsDirect to see if you can repair the dryer before buying a new one. Not only will you save tons of money, but you will also be saving the environment by not tossing the broken appliance. Sears PartsDirect made it so simple to fix my broken dryer with the how-to videos and step-by-step instructions with photos. My husband said that the dryer diagrams, that were specific to our dryer, helped him to know how to replace the dryer parts. 

13 comments:

melissa said...

I have a very old dryer but it still gets the job done. I have a repairman to fix it every once in a while but if I can do it myself all the more better.

AiringMyLaundry said...

I'll keep this in mind. I would hate for my dryer to stop working. I do lots of laundry throughout the week!

Melanie Edjourian said...

I think I'd probably leave it for the husband to do. I'm not sure I'm cut out for repairs. I'm sure he'd find this helpful.

Kathy said...

We make sure to clean out the dryer lint a lot. I have had it not want to work a couple of times already because of the lint build up. Just the other day we had to clean it out again because the clothes were wet as well. Luckily it was just because of the lint.

Terri Steffes said...

I clean the lint drawer every time I take my clothes out. Lint fire caused a friend's house to burn to the ground.

Fatima D Torres said...

We went through this last year. I swore it was a lint problem, but the heating system had blown out. I will say, I wasn't as good as I am today with cleaning the lint drawer. I do it after every load now.

Kita Bryant said...

This is really helpful. I am going to go see if I can get mine fixed.

Heather said...

Luckily our dryer is still pretty new. I will be sure to watch for the signs of needing repair as it gets older.

Authentic Food Quest said...

Awesome. So proud of you for looking further into the dryer issue and not just getting a new one. Cleaning out the lint is absolutely crucial. Glad you found the resources to help with the heating issue.

Anosa Malanga said...

This is a good read. I learned something new today and definitely taking note of this too so that I can be ready in case my dryer troubleshoot it.

Marysa said...

It is always good if you can diagnose and fix your own appliances. Repairs are so expensive and buying new appliances can be so wasteful.

Gust si Aroma said...

These tips are so helpful for my mother. She has dryer that began to have some problems.

moonlightmel said...

These are some wonderful tips on keeping a dryer on point. I have insurance on my dryer, so glad I did

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