My Dryer is Taking Too Long to Dry Clothes

When Your Dryer is Taking Too Long to Dry Clothes …

If your dryer won’t heat up properly, it’s possible that it is not being supplied with the proper voltage.

More often than not, a dryer malfunction is brand specific. With over 30 years of trusted experience, Paul’s Washer and Dryer Repair are experts at servicing all of the major brands of clothes dryers.

3 Easy Ways to Make Sure your Dryer is getting Power:

1. Make sure your dryer is plugged in.
2. Check the circuit breaker panel to make sure all the circuit breakers are in the correct positions.
3. Finally, check to make sure no fuses in your fuse panel are blown.

Here are some of the more common brand-specific problems:

Common Problem #1 with Maytag Dryers:

It is possible that your dryer isn’t heating because its heating element or igniter is defective. Heating elements and igniters need to be replaced as they are not repairable. This repair is most common with Maytag Dryers. Click here to learn more about Maytag appliances.

Common Problem #2 with Kenmore, Whirlpool, Inglis and Maytag Dryers:

Another possible cause for a dryer not heating or not working properly could be attributed to a faulty thermal fuse or thermostat; this repair is most common with Kenmore, Whirlpool, Inglis and Maytag. The thermal fuse on many dryers, (a heat-sensitive fuse that blows if the dryer overheats) mounted to the exhaust duct inside the back cover panel. The fuse is about an inch long. It’s usually embedded in black resin and mounted in a white plastic housing in our experience when the thermal fuse fails the cycling thermostat most be replaced. If the fuse has blown, it has no continuity.

Common Problem #3 with Speed Queen, Maytag, Inglis, Whirlpool, Kenmore or Frigidaire Dryers:

A broken door switch, is very common on older dryers, be it Maytag, Inglis, Whirlpool, Kenmore or Frigidaire. If the door switch or the door-switch actuator is defective, the dryer won’t work and you need to replace the failed component. The switch is inside the dryer main housing near the door frame. Sometimes you need to raise or open the top or front of the dryer to reach the switch.

Common Dryer Repair Performed by Paul’s Washer and Dryer Repair:

The most common dryer repair performed by Paul’s Washer and Dryer Repair is replacing the coils, or solenoids. If the gas dryer will light once but will not relight until it cools down, it is likely the gas valve coils are faulty. These coils lose some strength when subjected to heat. When they become old, the addition of heat may be enough to prevent them from opening the gas valve when hot. However the coils still work when cool.

An easy way to diagnose the coils when the burner is not lighting, watch the igniter. If the igniter glows for 10 to 15 seconds but no flame is created, then the coils are faulty. If the igniter is not glowing the problem is elsewhere.