My dryer takes a long time to dry cloths

[Alistair Smythe]

I can put my cloths in the dryer and sometimes after 70 minutes the cloths are still damp. I clean the lint trap and the exhaust leads outside of the house. What can be the problem?

[Dan O.]

What about the vent line *all the way* from the dryer to the outfoors??

A plugged or poorly installed dryer vent (see the following link) are very common causes.

How long can my dryer vent be?

Dan O.

- Appliance411.com

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[mike]

I had the same problem. I peroidically stuck a drain snake in the vent pipe with the dryer running. Lots of lint came out, but the situation only marginally improved. Then one day I got the bright idea to disconnect the vent and stick an electric leaf blower into the hole...the inside end of the hole. I was amazed at how much more lint came out. My dryer now works like new. I kick myself over all the electricity I've wasted over the last decade. Running with restricted air greatly increases dryer temperature and increases risk of fire.

Caution, depending on what you've got for pipe, you can blow the whole vent system apart. That would NOT be good. Use just enough air to NOT hurt your vent system!!! Better yet, forget I mentioned this...YMMV. mike

[Joseph Meehan]

I have used the same trick, works well in some situations. I also now have a vent bush to clean it. Together it seems to do the job.

[Joseph Meehan]

There are two likely reasons. The most common is a vent problem.

Vents can be blocked by bird nest, collected lint or maybe just a kink in the line. A blocked vent may not only be a bother, but it also can be a fire issue; so you don't want to ignore it.

First step is to determine what kind of vent you have. Anything other than a solid metal (not corrugated) is not good. That flexible stuff is just a lint trap and a possible fire hazard. Many local codes have outlawed it.

With the proper solid metal (hopefully not put together without screws) you can use a vent brush made for the job and or a blower like a shop vac or leaf blower. or both. You also can just call a service to come out and do it for you.

The other likely reason is a heating problem. This could be a control problem, not allowing the dryer to reach full temperature or with an electric dryer it may be one half of the heater circuit burnt out so you are only getting half the normal heat. Tracking these down are not all that difficult, but it is slightly different for different dryers and means some disassembly of the dryer.

If you need additional help let us know and tell us if your dryer is electric of gas.

[jim]

with a dryer you need heat, air flow and exhaut.... remove the dryer from the wall and remove the exhaust pipe and try it and see if the clothes dry now.. if so then its the ventilation being blocked(in the wall) if it still does not dry then its the machine.. either the heat or the vent or filter in the dryer.... try each and see what happens... sometimes with a build up of lint on the thermal protectors it tells the dryer to turn the heat off(thats so the house dont burn down) the lint acts like a sweater on these thermal protectors and keeps them warm... you might have to take the entire case off the dryer to get to them and clean them off.. hope this helps.

[jeff]

Hi,

A copy...

Q - Dryer takes too long to dry or multiple times to dry a load

A1- Pull the dryer out away from the wall. Unhook the vent from the dryer completely. Do not put anything over the dryer exhaust on the back of the dryer. Do a normal load with the vent unhooked. If it dries better or ok like this then the problem is in the dryer venting. Like a blocked vent pipe or a smashed or restricted vent hose.

A2 - If the vent doesn't make a difference, then check the blower wheel for excessive lint build up, check that there isn't anything stuck to the air intake baffle inside the drum, (i.e. the screen on the back wall of the dryer when looking into the drum). Check the lint filter chute for blockage. Check that the heating element isn't shorted to ground. Check the exhaust temperature of the dryer. A meat or pocket thermometer can be used for this. It should cycle between

120 degrees and 160 degrees. Check that the drum seals are worn out.

jeff. Appliance Repair Aid

[JohnB]

I just had a repair tech visit our house to fix a dryer which was no longer drying using the "permanent press" and other settings which depend on a sensor which detects the amount of water vapor in the exhaust.

He installed a new sensor which seems to have fixed the problem.