Whirlpool Dryers: Design Flaw?

[Shirley Jones]

I have a Whirlpool dryer and the motor just went out for the second time. I have a technician friend who says that these dryers, with the lint screen down by the door, collect a lot of lint, and this wrecks the motor. He says this is also a safety hazard because lint can collect and can combust. He also says that other brands of dryers, and even the other type that Whirlpool makes, don't do this, just the ones with the lint screen down by the door. And finally, he says that many Kenmore dryers have this same design.

So, I am wondering if this is a common problem for all of you out there, and if this has caused you problems. After all, if this is common, then you would wonder why Whirlpool doesn't do something about it.

Bye!

Shirley

[Rich]

I have a 20 year old GE dryer with the lint screen just under the door. No fires yet and no motor problems. I have other problems but this isn't the group for that!! LOL

Rich

[Art]

My 7 year old maytag has screen below door. Annoying because it does not clip in securely and if you are sloppy when pulling out the clothes you can pull out screen too and get lint all over clothes. But the motor is fine.

[Johnny Z]

It's doing exactly what it is designed to do, collect a lot of lint. Lint left clogging the filter is a fire hazard, it should be cleaned after every use. Not to be sarcastic here, but you can't expect a representative of Whirlpool to come over and clean the lint. You should also clean the vent exhaust piping regularly regardless of make or model or expect a fire to occur.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

My 23 year old Maytag has the filter down by the door. No fires, original motor.

An dryer can overheat if the filter is not cleaned after each use, plus it wastes a lot of energy. I don't see where it is a flaw at all. Ed

[Banister Stairwell]

I'm assuming you have an electric dryer.

The dryer in the photo is a Whirlpool (or Kenmore - made by Whirlpool) dryer of the type you most likely have; hence, the reason for your technician friend's comments about the safety hazard. The heating element assembly is located in the bottom right hand side of the dryer. Over time, lint settles on this assembly. If there isn't enough air flow thru the dryer (as would be the case with a plugged vent or lint filter), this assembly can overheat and ignite the lint that's settled on it.

If it makes you feel better, I own this exact design Kenmore dryer and have never had a problem. Just make sure you clean the lint filter after *ever* dryer load and keep the dryer vent clean and unobstructed.

If you're really concerned, just open the dryer up (obviously, disconnect the power first) and remove the loose lint inside with a shop vacuum. Pay special attention to remove the lint that has settled on the heating element assembly. And you may as well clean the blower impeller while your at it. Accumulated lint on the vanes can lower its efficiency and reduce airflow.

[jeff]

Hi,

Any dryer can/will collect lint inside, some sometimes seem to be better than others at preventing it....also maintenance is important.....cleaning out the venting system every 1-2 years, cleaning out the inside inside of the dryer every 2-5 years depending on useage. Type of venting used can also contribute to the collection of link inside the dryer.

Pictured is the dryer before we cleaned it and the danger involved in using the white vinyl venting. I say it again. If you have the white vinyl venting on your dryer, redo the vent with good pipe and save your self lots of dollars in power savings and maybe even save your life from a burnt house. There are many aluminum semi-rigid, flexible, rigid products that does a good job in venting. Use the white vinyl stuff if you insist, but don't be surprised when problems occur. Picture of the dryer (

). These folks were lucky!! They were right on the verge of a major fire. Reference model 110.66901690

jeff. Appliance Repair Aid

[Shirley Jones]

Banister's picture is exactly what I am talking about. My friend says that Whirlpool dryers with the lint screen in the door area have very poor airflow design, and they trap lint in the motor area much more than any other brand or design on the market today. He says this is a design flaw, and that there is no fix for it. My dryer is hooked to just a 3 foot tube direct to the outside, and I clean my lint screen before every use. Even with this care, there was an inch of lint in the bottom of the dryer.

Shirley

[Rich]

Well then don't buy a Whirlpool. Done

Rich

[Mark L.]

[kc]

replying to Mark L., kc wrote: Experts agree with the dryer lint cleaning schedule and advice Jeff provided:

:"Any dryer can/will collect lint inside, some sometimes seem to be better than others at preventing it....also maintenance is important.....cleaning out the venting system every 1-2 years, cleaning out the inside inside of the dryer every 2-5 years depending on useage. Type of venting used can also contribute to the collection of link inside the dryer."

My 1996 Kenmore (Whirlpool made) dryer had a motor failure in 2005 due to an accumulation of lint in the dryer cabinet. And that lint accumulated even with the lint screen being cleared after every use. I replaced the motor, and it has been problem free for 15 years. The difference may be that after that first motor failure, I added an every other year (sometimes yearly depending on dryer usage) opening of the dryer cabinet, removing the drum, and vacuuming of the accumulated lint from the interior of the cabinet.

That dryer is still in use 24 years after being put into service. The lint trap housing develops a coating of lint that makes the dryer less efficient and probably a fire hazard, too. I remove the housing and clear the accumulated lint with fine steel wool while I have the dryer cabinet opened up.

And yes, I see that I am updating an old thread. I found the page via a web search today, so others will probably come across it, too.

[gfretwell]

Part of the problem is the drum seal wears out allowing lint to escape into the cabinet. Those dryer sheets everyone likes will coat the venting the system and cause the lint to stick, building up there.

[Meem]

Same here! Total design flaw and a dangerous one. My Dad complained that his wasn’t drying properly and sure enough it was loaded with lint. His lint trap allows a ton of lint to pass through. Bad design!

[invalid unparseable]

We remove the lint after every drying cycle. That is probably your problem in not doing so.

[hubops]

Our 5 year old Maytag allows lint to bypass the lint screen - we need to go outside and clear the plastic grill on the outlet every month or so. Our old Inglis caught much more lint and we only cleared the outside about once per year. ... the first time we realized how bad it was - the laundry room was steaming up because the outdoor grill was totally clogged. ... can you say fire hazard. Modern major appliances are total crap - if it isn't planned obsolescence it's way too much unnecessary electronic gagetry that causes the _expensive_ failure ... John T.

[Marilyn Manson]

If it's letting that much lint by, you might want to consider pulling the back off and seeing how much has built up inside the cabinet. If the motor gets covered, it can overheat. If the fan blades get caked with moist dust that then dries out, the fan loses efficiency.

I do mine about every 2 years just to be safe, but now that it's just the

2 of us (used to be 6) it's just a quick vacuuming.

If you use dryer sheets, test your lint screen for airflow. Pour some water on it. If it doesn't drain through, then the screen has a waxy buildup on it from the dryer sheets and is blocking airflow.

[KC]

In June 2020 I had wrote in an earlier post above:

"My 1996 Kenmore (Whirlpool made) dryer had a motor failure in 2005 due to an accumulation of lint in the dryer cabinet. And that lint accumulated even with the lint screen being cleared after every use. I replaced the motor, and it has been problem free for 15 years. "

Six months later, In December 2020, the motor that I had installed in 2005 died. I bought a replacement and we are still using the dryer.

As someone else noted, Whirlpool changed their design and moved the lint screen from the door to the top of the cabinet. Maybe the new design offered better sealing against lint escaping into the cabinet.

[Jacob Jones]

My modern major pigeon pair fridge and freezer, biggest you can buy, both work fine and have done so for more than a decade now.

None of that with mine.

None of that with mine either.

Haven't had that with any of mine either.

[hubops]

Good idea - about checking & cleaning inside the back of the machine - plus the vent pipe - I've just been lazy about doing that. We never use any dryer products. John T.

[invalid unparseable]

We get a little lint in grill cover outside and maybe brush off every six months. I pull the vent pipe to check maybe once a year. Before I put the grill cover on the vent had flaps and damned if small birds had started nesting and damn near clogged the vent. We discovered it when the cat jumped on top the drier and started pawing the vent.

I mentioned here before that we rented our first house and drier was in the basement and vented at ground level. A rabbit crawled in and got dried to death. We did not know until a repairman came out several days later and the corpse was maggot infested. Fortunately it was the home owner's drier as stink would not leave. We were getting ready to move into our new house in a couple of months and bought our own drier.