My dryer is taking too long to dry my clothes, or dryer runs 3 or 4 cycles before it dries my clothes
If your dryer still produces a heat but it takes several runs to dry the clothes, it is very common that the issue is not with the dryer itself but with air flow, and before calling the professional technician, please check on the following items:
First and easy step, check the dryer lint filter (Lint Trap)
Your dryer’s lint filter(trap) should be cleaned after each use. If too much lint accumulates, the dryer’s drying time could be significantly increased. Also, the less lint there is on your filter, the more efficient your dryer runs. Remove the lint filter from your dryer after each use and clean it off. Otherwise, the dryer wont dry as it should, plus it could damage your dryer that would be costly to repair in the long run
Second and more difficult step, check your Air Flow/Venting Hose
A dryer’s drying time is largely related to the flow of air through the machine and the condition of the venting hose. If air is impeded in its pathway out of the dryer, or if there is a blockage in the venting hose, it could reduce the rate at which clothes are drying in your dryer.
The dryer ventilation is usually including two parts: foil flexible hose (sometimes metal duct/hose) and metal duct/vent inside the wall that goes from the wall to outside of the house.
How to check on the issue with your foil hose (vent behind the dryer)?
Please check the venting hose. Make sure it is securely connected to your dryer and the external vent. Also, if your venting hose is kinked, it could create lint build up and poor air flow. Do a check of your dryer’s venting hose to make sure it is not bent in an awkward position.
Unplug the dryer and pull the unit away from the wall. You are going to need to get in behind it. Remove the end of the hose that connects to your dryer. Look for lint build up, or any other sort of blockage. Also do a check for any holes or tears in your venting line. Plus check the venting line inside the dryer and use a vacuum cleaner to remove any excess lint.
Reattach your venting hose in the shortest, most direct way. Avoid letting the hose drag down low, because those low points are prime lint-accumulating areas.
How to check on the issue with your metal duct/vent inside the wall that goes from the wall to outside of the house?
If a dryer connected to a duct that filled with lint and other debris won’t work well either. If your dryer once finished off wet loads in one cycle or less but now needs two or even three, check your venting. Chances are it’s not your dryer that’s faulty -just clogged duct-work that’s to blame. If you have your duct under 6-8 feet and with not that many turns, then you can attempt to clean it yourself but, in most cases, even short duct requires a special equipment. We strongly recommend to call a professional vent cleaning company, even though you think the vent is not that clogged, you would be surprised how even small amount of lint or debris that stuck in the duct, would affect the functionality of the dryer and even worse cause damages to it. We don’t even talk about how dangerous it is to have clogged duct, it is a hazard.
TEST - To determine if the dryer is fine and the issue with your clogged/restricted duct, you can run a simple test.
Run the test with a few wet towels in the dryer but unplugged the foil vent(hose) from the wall and put in the bucket with a little bit of water in it, just to catch some of lint that may fly out from the foil vent. If the towels would be dried in 15-20 minutes with unplugged foil vent from the wall, then the vent/duct is clogged/ restricted and needs to be cleaned. In this case you will need to call professional duct/vent cleaning company, or you can do it your self but usually it is required special tools to clean it properly. In some cases, the duct/vent may have many turns and may be long and it would be hard to clean it all the way. We find out that by simple running this test you can easily determine if the dryer works correctly and the issue with the duct itself, which will save you a time and money in the long run.
Run the test with a few wet towels in the dryer but unplugged the foil vent(hose) from the wall and put in the bucket with a little bit of water in it, just to catch some of lint that may fly out from the foil vent. If the towels would be dried in 15-20 minutes with unplugged foil vent from the wall, then the vent/duct is clogged/ restricted and needs to be cleaned. In this case you will need to call professional duct/vent cleaning company, or you can do it your self but usually it is required special tools to clean it properly. In some cases, the duct/vent may have many turns and may be long and it would be hard to clean it all the way. We find out that by simple running this test you can easily determine if the dryer works correctly and the issue with the duct itself, which will save you a time and money in the long run.If after checking the airflow in a duct/vent, you have determined that it is definitely a dryer, then it could be one of the common issues below:
A dryer whose heating element is partially or completely burned out will prolong a dryer’s time of getting clothes dry. You need to call the professional appliance technician or if you would do it yourself, you need to locate a heating element on the dryer. Test the heating element, and if it is no longer functioning as it should, you will have to replace it.
It is less likely, but it is possible that your clothes are taking so long to dry because of a faulty thermostat. Test each of your dryer’s thermostats. If any are not functioning properly, they will have to be replaced.
Testing or replacing of any faulty parts, is the job for professional appliance technicians, if you can not do that please call for one.
