Should we get a new heating element for our clothes dryer?

Question

Hello Everyone:

I don't want to sound like I am whining or complaining,but we have tried to tell our landlord that our dryer is not working properly and he basically just blew us off like we were crazy and didn't know what we were talking about. The problem with our dryer is that it takes AT LEAST three cycles on the hottest setting on our dryer, before our clothes even get romotely dry. Also our power bill was over $200.00 dollars and I am thinking that it is our heating element on our dryer because I know for a fact that we don't use that much power during the day! If you have any tips or suggestions on what we could do to fix this problem,I would be so thankful and appreciative!! ;-) P.S. Our clothes dryer is a Whirlpool and it is about 10 years old!! ;-)

Answer 1

Hi
It could be a few of things

1. The heating element is partially burnt out and needs replacing.


2. Being that the dryer is 10 years old it has had the element replaced 1 or 2 times before, the last time it was replaced the service person put in one of the energy efficient elements used in the newer driers.

The older model dryers used elements that got hotter dried clothes faster but used more electricity because they used more amps.

The new driers use elements that draw less current giving them a higher star rating. The silly thing is: It takes three times longer to dry clothes. Where’s the saving in that?

(Just a note: I’m not sure if every model on the market has the two types of elements available for them.)

If that's the case and you are a handy person buy another element that's was used in the older driers that dries clothes faster and change it yourself, they still make them.

Heating Element (15.5" long x 5" wide)
http://www.partselect.com/xq/aspx/Inventory.373014/qx/PartDetail.htm?SourceCode=6

Heating Element (10" long x 6" wide)
http://www.partselect.com/xq/aspx/Inventory.334313/qx/PartDetail.htm?SourceCode=6


3. The other problem it could be is faulty thermostats.


Whirlpool High Limit Thermostat http://www.partselect.com/xq/aspx/Inventory.351925/qx/PartDetail.htm?SourceCode=6

Whirlpool High Limit Thermostat (Limit: 250-80)
http://www.partselect.com/xq/aspx/Inventory.344915/qx/PartDetail.htm?SourceCode=6

Cycling Thermostat (Limit: 155-25)
http://www.partselect.com/xq/aspx/Inventory.344510/qx/PartDetail.htm?SourceCode=6

3. One last thing check your door gaskets, you could be losing all your heat though the seal.


Whirlpool Door Gasket
http://www.partselect.com/xq/aspx/Inventory.344963/qx/PartDetail.htm?SourceCode=6

If you have a Mulitmeter you can test all of these things before you replace them.

http://www.partselect.com/dryer+wont-dry-clothes+repair.htm

One last thing to check. When you are using your dyer take a look at you meter box to see if it is the dryer drawing most of the power. If might be thinging esle it your apartment, like the fridge thats adding to your power bill.

Answer 2

I know that some people load too much & too wet of things in to a dryer.

The first thing to look for if it is heating but not drying good is to see that the lint trap & vents are clean.

Cleaning the vent & inside of the dryer is a maintenance problem.

As a general rule the owner of the machine pays for the repairs & maintenance of the machine. I would check with your lease to find out what it says about maintenance of the dryer.

10 years is a long time for dryers. I checked the book on my dryer
& it said that the vents should be checked every two years

Do they or did they advertise furnishing the dryer?
This would imply that it indeed work & work properly.

But you can check the vent from the outlet on the dryer.

Answer 3

Your vent to the outside is blocked or kinked behind the dryer. Two things occur. 1 Is not removing moisture. 2 The thermostat does not sense properly with poor air flow. If the filter is mounted on the top,remove it while dryer is running. You should hear a suction sound and all the lint should be on the cupped side of the filter and never on the back side. It's harder to check if filter is inside the door. If inside, disconnect the vent for one load only and dry a load of towels. Bet it will work fine. Correct the vent.
Sears tech. 35 years

Answer 4

Just go buy a heating element they only cost about 15 or 20 dollars and give the bill to your landlord if he doesn't pay for it .
Just take it out when you move out or check the dryer vent it might be plugged up with lent. Sounds like your landlord is a real a**hole.

Answer 5

If the dryer is provided as part of the rental, the landlord is responsible for it. Send him a registered letter informing him that the dryer is malfunctioning. Inform him, you will call a repairman and deduct the bill from next months rent. Remind him he has not fixed it since (date first discussed). Now for some reason, if you don't want to "make waves", disconnect the dryer from the exhaust hose. Run it through a cycle and see if it dried. If not, take the back off the dryer and see if one of the coils has burnt into.

Answer 6

First do you live in an apartment building or house. And yes your dryer element is probably out.. It has broken and is welded to your dryer so the electricity is going into your dryer body and then into the ground, " if appliances were not grounded they would shock you if you touched them while they are in operation. So you should get it fixed and have the service man or woman right a report as to what was wrong and how they fixed it. Then when you go to pay your rent include a copy of it. Now your power bill should be about 70 dollars a month with electric heat and about 90 or so with electric heat and an electric water heater. So I am thinking something is way wrong, so this is what you do. Get one person on the telephone and have them stand by your electric meter outside , turn off all the appliances and lights in the house , everything. then have them look at power meter. the wheel should barely move but no doubt it will be spinning fast which means you are using power somewhere. Then go to your breaker panel and turn off all the breakers. then turn them on and off one at a time. The good breakers will have no effect but the problem breaker will make your meter spin fast. Look at the door on the breaker box and it will tell you what that breaker is for, Now I have seen where one apartment was wired to another apartment. so you pay for one of their breakers and they paid for yours, I have seen this with air conditioning units. anyway more then likely it will be the breaker going to your dryer, if the dryers pigtail or the electrical plug was not installed correctly it will draw a huge amount of electricity even when it is off. Same with your oven. it is called a hot ground. But whatever is the culprit when you turn that one breaker on it will make the meter outside your house spin like crazy. If that is the case turn off that breaker and only turn it on to use whatever appliance is screwed up until you can have an electrician look at it. Remember the faster the wheel turns the more money you pay. Email me if you have any more questions.

Answer 7

Answer above is nicely stated. I wouldn't recommend messing with the dryer if you are not familiar with electricity. Dryers operate on 220VAC.

Document all actions with landlord. The landlord will take action if dryer is included in rent. Your electricity bill is higher than normal due to running more cycles with it. The motor that turns the drum will consume electricity too.

Answer 8

Move the drier away from the wall. remove the vent pipe check for buildup of lint,remove lint. take a vacuum cleaner and use the wand to reach as deep in the hole as you can. also be sure your lint filter is clean, while you have the filter removed use the vacuum here too. if this does not help you probably do need a new heating element

Answer 9

Have you cleaned the filter and vent pipe. When they get plugged the dryers must work harder and longer, thus running up your electric bills

Answer 10

Don't forget to unplug the dryer before taking the back off!