It is no fun when you put your clothes in the dryer and they’re still wet. It seems like such a waste, but before you blame the brand of your dryer or spend hundreds of dollars on a new one, remember that most issues can be solved.
This can be aggravating when you have multiple loads of clothes in need of washing and drying.
Dryer Is Heating Up But Still Not Drying Clothes – Troubleshoot and Diagnosis
If the dryer is heating up but not actually drying your clothes, there could be a few reasons why. It might take a while before you get them all dry.
1. Dryer Is Overloaded
It’s important to take care of your dryer! Don’t overstuff the dryer. Make sure you’re not putting too much clothing in the dryer because that could cause problems like motor strain and other issues. Avoiding this will help to keep your clothes from drying properly.
Two important factors to getting your clothes clean quickly are heat and airflow.
To dry clothes in a dryer, you need heat and airflow. Heat warms up the water inside the clothes to turn it into steam. Airflow pushes the steam away from the clothes. For maximum efficiency, don’t pack too many things in the dryer or block airflow. This keeps the steam trapped in the clothes, which slows down the drying process.
Your dryer can handle a certain size load. Consult your dryer’s manual for information about the maximum load size it will hold.
2. Clogged Vent
Clogged air vents are one of the most common problems with dryers. Poor airflow can lead to clothes that take too long to dry, or clothes that are still wet after they’ve been in the dryer for a while. The best way to prevent clogged air vents is to inspect them regularly and clean them as necessary.
Check your vent, if the clothes dryer heats up quickly but it still takes forever for the clothes to dry, there may be a clogged vent.
A clogged vent can be a real problem. Not only does it decrease the airflow to the dryer, but it also traps heat inside without any circulation. Heat will not dry clothes because the air circulation is too low.
A clogged dryer vent typically leads to (and can cause) some serious consequences such as wet clothes that are not properly cleaned and damaged clothes.
Inspecting the vent hood or vent flaps while the dryer is running to feel its force can help you discover if there’s a clog. If the air feels weak, perhaps there’s a clog in the vent.
A skilled appliance repair technician is going to check the ducts and air flow to figure out the cause. They’ll provide the best solution.
3. Clogged Lint Trap
Every clothes dryer works a little differently, but they all have a few things in common. To help the clothes dry, the drum rotates continuously and the clothes tumble inside it. This tumbling action creates a circulation of air, which helps to dry the clothes.
As clothes are washed, the fabric is stretched and released into the water. These fibers are then transferred to the clothes during tumbling, and finally released into the air while drying. Unluckily, these particles can be a fire hazard, which is why all dryers come with a lint trap that catches these fibers before they escape.
Lint traps are like tiny screens that catch any free-flying particles before they enter the dryer. Every time you start a load, make sure to check the lint trap for clogs.
Every time you use the screen, inspect for lint build-up. Clean it off immediately and put the screen back into the lint filter. Make sure that there is no stray lint that was not caught by the filter by looking inside it after it has been removed.
4. Damaged Heating Element
In a clothes dryer, clothes are dried by turning on the heat and tumbling the clothes around inside. There are fins that do what they can to help move the clothes around as they tumble. The heated air is what dries the clothes inside the drum.
The primary heating element is an essential part of the dryer, providing the hot air that is needed to fully dry clothes. If the heating element does not work for some reason, or if there is a lack of air flow during the drying process, it may take longer for clothes to fully dry in the drum.
Electric dryers are designed with an interior heating element that heats the air inside of the drum. If this part burns out, it will take your machine longer to get your clothes dry.
If you suspect that your dryer’s heating element is the problem, you can test for continuity with a multimeter. If it is bad, you can contact the manufacturer of the dryer and buy a new one.
For a DIYer like you, it can be tempting to take the dryer apart and check the heating element. But this is a complicated procedure that requires access to the inside of the dryer. And worse, no two manufacturers install the heating element in the same place! So you could end up looking for it without any luck. Hence contact an expert or check the manufacture diagram for more details.
When it is time to replace the heating element in your dryer, you want to make sure to disconnect the power before opening the back panel. You’ll need to locate the heater and take the screws out, then disconnect it from the power panel. The new heater can be installed, then attached to the power panel. Once everything is hooked up and in place, you can then run a test load to check on your installation.
5. Blown Thermal Fuse
When your clothes are not dry after a few cycles, it is important to know that you might have a blown fuse. This fuse has a very important purpose – protecting your home from fire.
Eventually, the fuse wears out and needs replacing. Running your dryer at high temperatures might cause the fuse to burn out prematurely.
6. Faulty Thermostat
When it comes to regulating heat, most things will need a device to help. Clothes dryers are an example of something that has the device to regulate the heat in some way. They have thermostats inside in order to help regulate the air temperature.
It’s very important that your dryer blows hot air constantly. If not, then clothes may not dry properly. While it’s unlikely that the failure to dry clothes in a dryer is caused by a failure in one or more of the thermostats, it is very important for any dryer to maintain the appropriate temperature. This is to ensure that clothes are dried properly.
If you suspect that your thermostat is malfunctioning, then it’s time to get in touch with the manufacturer. In order to replace it, they will need to know the make and model number of your thermostat. This will allow them to send a replacement in the mail.
If you find out your thermostat is defective, it can’t hurt to simply unplug the power cord from the outlet. Gain access to the thermostats by opening the back panel of your dryer. There you will test them until you find the one that is bad and go buy a new one.
To test the operation of the clothes dryer, once you’ve replaced the thermostat and hooked up the dryer to the power, you can put in a load of laundry and see if it works.
Hi there! I’m Sam Hendricks, and I’m a repair technician and expert. I created this website to help people like you save money and time by fixing your own appliances.
Over the years, I’ve seen people spend a lot of money on unnecessary repairs or replacements. That’s why I decided to share my expertise and create easy-to-follow guides for fixing appliances on your own.