If a normal load used to dry in one cycle and now needs two or three, something has changed. A dryer needs three things to work: heat, tumbling and moving air. When clothes come out damp, the air is most often the part that has gone wrong.
Here is how to think about it, and what you can safely look at before you call anyone.
Start with airflow
A dryer does not just heat clothes. It blows the wet, hot air out of the drum and out of the house. If that air cannot leave, the clothes sit in steam and stay damp, no matter how hot the dryer gets.
Lint is the usual cause. It collects on the screen, in the duct behind the dryer, and at the vent hood on the outside wall. In Houston, damp outdoor air can make lint clump and stick at the outside vent even faster.
Poor airflow is more than a nuisance. Lint that builds up near heat is a fire risk, so slow drying is worth taking seriously.
What is safe to check yourself
You can do all of these without tools and without opening the dryer.
- Clean the lint screen before every load. Pull it out and wipe it off.
- Wash the screen now and then. Dryer sheets can leave a film you cannot see. If water pools on the screen and will not run through, scrub it gently with warm soapy water and let it dry.
- Go outside while the dryer is running and find the vent hood. The flap should open and you should feel a strong, warm stream of air. Clear away lint, leaves or nests you can reach from the outside.
- Look behind the dryer. The duct should not be crushed flat against the wall or bent sharply.
- Check the load size. A drum packed tight cannot tumble, and air cannot pass through.
- Check the washer. If clothes come out of the washer dripping, the dryer starts with far too much water to remove.
- Check the setting. Low heat, air-only and some sensor cycles run cooler than you may expect.
If there is no heat at all
Sometimes the drum turns but the air inside stays cold. On an electric dryer, look at your breaker panel. Electric dryers often use a double breaker, and when it trips the drum can still turn while the heat stays off. Switch it fully off and back on once. If it trips again, leave it off.
On a gas dryer, a lack of heat usually comes from a part inside the burner area. That is not a do-it-yourself job.
If you ever smell gas near a gas dryer, stop. Do not run the dryer, do not flip switches, and do not light anything. Leave the house and call your gas utility or 911 from outside.
What not to do
It can be tempting to dig deeper, but please leave these alone:
- Do not take panels off the dryer.
- Do not loosen or move a gas line.
- Do not run the dryer with the duct pulled off to see if it dries faster.
- Do not keep running extra cycles for weeks. Long, hot cycles are hard on the dryer and on your clothes.
When to call a technician
Call if you have cleaned the screen, the outside vent is clear, and loads still take too long. Call also if you notice any of these:
- A burning smell, or a dryer top that is too hot to touch.
- No heat after you have checked the breaker.
- The dryer stops partway through a cycle.
- Squealing, thumping or grinding sounds.
- Weak or no air at the outside vent while the dryer runs.
Optimal Appliance US repairs dryers in homes and businesses around Houston. Call us or send the request form on this site and tell us what the dryer is doing. We will find the cause and explain it before any work starts.