clothes dryer problem?

Question

My dryer is about 6 months old. I've had this problem ever since I bought it and let it go till the warranty was up (stupid). Anyway, it gets hot but it takes the clothes FOREVER to dry. A load will take about 2-3 hours to get dry. Is there a temp settin I need to fix or what could be wrong? It's very annoying. I haven't noticed any signifigant change in my electric bill. The brand is Performa by Maytag.

Answer 1

Sounds like a vent problem to me. If your dryer vent is fully or partially blocked by lint or something, your dryer will get hot but clothes will take a couple hours to dry.

This can also be a fire hazard, in addition to being an added expense and a general pain.

Answer 2

As others have said your vent is blocked or kinked. It should not take two hours and not even one hour for the clothes to dry. You must check the entire vent from the rear of the dryer to the hood through the wall.

Remove the vent from the rear of the dryer and dry a normal load of clothes. It should take between 30-45 minutes. If you still have a problem something is wrong with the dryer. If the dryer dries the clothes within that time there is definitely a problem with the vent.

Answer 3

Sounds like the air is not circulating (aka the lint filter is full or clogged)

Using fabric softeners can do this -

first take out the lint filter and clean it as you normal would by wiping off all the lint then take it over to the sink and run some cold water in it - if the water pools up on the filter you have found your problem - simply run some warm water on it and a little dish detergent and scrub GENTLY with an old toothbrush - then rinse it and put back in the dryer - should work like new

Answer 4

Every now and again, I get this problem and it's because the air and moisture is not able to exit the dryer via the vent. I usually have lint clogging it up -- have to take the whole vent/hose thing off and clean it out. If you've only had yours for 6 months, though, it's probably not lint build-up. Maybe there is some THING in the vent. Take it off (the tube) and shake it out. AND, make sure that where it's venting outside isn't blocked by something.

Answer 5

Sometimes the heating element in the dryer can either come loose or burn out. If that is the case, you just replace it and you are good to go. I have had this problem before, I had Sears come to fix it. On that note, I don't know if the heating element is some kind of hot coil or what, but I would guess that to be the problem.

Answer 6

I had this same problem a few years ago. Turns out it wasn't vented properly. Check the coiled tube that runs from the back of the dryer to the outside. My dryer worked great afterwards.

Answer 7

This is a very reputable dryer, I would consider that the problem is with the installation, did you install it or have a handyman do it? You need to have your installer or another professional check the electric line and the vent.

Answer 8

There are temperature settings on most dryers but if you didn't see them by now then I am guessing there aren't any. On most dryers they are next to the start button. If there aren't temperature settings then you probably just have to deal with it because you let your warrenty expire. Unless you want to pay money or buy a new dryer your going to have to just deal with it and look on the bright side: some people use clothes lines to dry their clothes.

Answer 9

This may sound stupid, but is it spinning? You have two different fuses in the fuse panel for the dryer. One for the heat and one for the spinner. If the spinner's fuse is blown, the dryer will still heat up but it will only be doing half of its job.

Answer 10

I would call maytag and pay for them to fix it. You can try to explain the problem to them first and then tell them about the lack of warrranty and see what they say. it may have been a factory problem they are aware of.