Heating Element in Dryer
If you have ever put your clothes in the dryer and turned it on and came back when the dry cycle was finished expecting to find some nice hot laundry and what you find instead is a lump of wet clothes, then you may need to do some repairs on your dryer. There are a few common reasons that the dryer won't dry clothes, and some of them are very easy repairs that you can do yourself if you want to save on buying a costly new appliance or having appliance repairs done adding extra costs to your budget. To help you save on a service call and appliance repairs in Lodi California we have created this list of common problems associated with the symptoms of a dryer that runs but will not get hot enough to dry the clothes properly.
- The first thing to check on is if there is the correct voltage coming out of the socket where you plug in the dryer. This should be 220V reading at the socket. If it is too low then the dryer won’t be able to draw enough power to heat the dryer up enough to get the clothes dry.
- The second thing to check is the thermal fuse. This fuse is a common problem and causes different symptoms in different dryers. If it is blown in a kenmore elite frontload dryer then the dryer will turn on but no power will flow to the heating element and the clothes will not dry cause there is no hot air being cycled through the dryer. You can test this easily just by checking for continuity with an ohmmeter.
- Another common problem that might cause the dryer to not get hot enough is a clogged dryer vent. Dryers have a vent system that blows the hot air outside through dryer ducting or venting that looks like a big tinfoil tube coming out of the back of the dryer. If this gets clogged then the dryer won't be able move enough air through the dryer to get all the water evaporated. When the vent is clogged the moisture has now way of escaping the dryer and therefore the clothes stay waterlogged.
- A common part failure is the thermostat on the heating element. If you have a blown thermal fuse on your dryer it is customary to replace the thermostat on the heating element at the same time.
- Another common problem with dryers is that the heating element itself has malfunctioned. You can test the heating element for the proper ohms reading to find out if it has malfunctioned.
A less common problem that could cause the dryer to not get hot is a control panel issue. When removing/replacing these it is a good idea to get a picture of the connectors to make sure that when you go to put it back together you will put all the wiring back in the correct places.
The hardest part of these repairs is just disassembling the washer, removing the front door, and access panels. This should not be too daunting though if you have a few common household tools around like screwdrivers and end wrenches and socket wrenches. If you have something like a makita power drill then you are in really good shape you can get the job done really fast then!
