Wednesday 25 August 2021

3 Common Reasons Why Your Clothes Dryer is Overheating

The most common problem in one of the most common household items, the clothes dryer, is overheating. It happens from time to time, and it can be a serious issue. If we don’t deal with the overheating problem, it can be a big mistake that costs us our house.

There are three things that are the most common reasons your clothes dryer overheats, and you google “dryer repairs near me.” It’s the airflow, the thermostat, and the heating element. Let’s discuss these reasons and see how we can resolve the issue.

    1. Not Enough Airflow

This is the number one reason you can feel the heat around the dryer. It’s the most frequent reason any clothes dryer overheats. So, make sure that your clothes dryer has good airflow, and here are the things you can do:

    • Replace the filter: When you feel it’s restricted airflow that’s causing your clothes dryer to overheat, clean the lint filter. Remove the lint from the filter, and then wash it. It's important to do these things to make your dryer work well, and it reduces the potential for it to overheat.

    • Vacuum the slot: The lint filter slot needs to be vacuumed. Even if you can’t see anything in there, and you think that it’s clean, you should just go over the slot with a vacuum cleaner to make sure that any debris is gone.

    • Check if the air is blowing: If you have the vent for your clothes dryer on the sidewall of your home, you can check if the air is blowing once you turn it on. Contact a repair service if the vent is on the roof, and if the air is blocked somehow.

    2. Thermostat is Done

Another reason might be that the thermostat is done, it’s not working properly, or it’s not working at all. Don’t hesitate to turn off the machine if it starts overheating. The thermostat should turn off the heating element when it reaches a certain temperature.

You don’t want your clothes burning, and these thermostats are not that expensive. You don’t have to buy a new one if you feel you’re handy enough to test it. If you have a multi-meter at home, you can take off the thermostat and follow the testing process.

    3. Dryer’s Heating Element

The third common reason your clothes dryer is overheating is some kind of fault in the heating element. If you have a tumble dryer, it’s likely that some parts of it are going to shift a little when tumbling.

Due to a change in position, the heating element can lean against the drum, which causes it to heat much faster than it usually does. There’s not much you can do in this case apart from contacting a dryer repair service.

It’s difficult to find a dryer repair service nowadays. Personally, if I can’t find any dryer repairs near me, I simply try to look for the appliance supply and replace it myself.

Overheating Dryer Prevention Advice

I can tell you that there are many things you can do to prevent any kind of damage to your appliances, and these things usually involve regular cleaning and maintenance. However, with clothes dryers, you just need to do three basic things.

Regular cleaning

Apart from cleaning your lint filter, it’s also important to clean the drum. Vacuum the drum as well, and don’t use wet mops or anything wet, because it is a dryer after all. Also, unplug it before you clean.

Regular cleaning means you need to clean it after every couple of uses. However, it also depends on the type of use and how long you use it. Try to clean it after every 2 hours of use, for example.

Lower temperatures

There’s an overheating possibility when you use the higher temperatures on the dryer more frequently. So, you can try using the medium heat setting on the dryer to prevent overheating, or use different settings intermittently.

Use the dryer less frequently

If you have a possibility to dry your clothes on a regular drying rack, try doing this intermittently as well. When the air isn’t that humid, and you can easily dry your clothes outside, don’t turn on the clothes dryer. Apart from preventing damage, this will also increase your dryer’s lifespan.

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