Help! Dryer Question

**RABBIT** · 03-06-2008, 08:01 AM

I apologize if this is not where this question belongs, I'm in a hurry to get out the door to get to work and I wanted to be able to post this so I can check if I get any replies when I get home.

I did a load of wash this morning and took my clothes out of the dryer to find they were still wet and cold! Is this something that can be fixed or does this sound like I need a new dryer?

Thanks for any replies.

**jamie79** · 03-06-2008, 08:06 AM

First did you clean the lint filter? If its full it wont dry. Then make sure you didnt trip a breaker switch or anything like that

**Dixie** · 03-06-2008, 08:09 AM

Last week my son's dryer wouldn't work at all, it turned out to be a fuse that only cost $13 to fix.
Is your dryer turning on at all? Or is it turning, but not heating? If you google ' appliance troubleshooting', it will take you to several sites that can be very helpful. It's saved us hundreds of dollars over the years.

**mikandmari** · 03-06-2008, 08:23 AM

If it still runs, but does not dry the clothes, it may be the heating element... not sure if that is the exact name of the part... but it's not too difficult or expensive to fix.

**mombottoo** · 03-06-2008, 10:05 AM

Is your dryer electric or gas? It is possible that the thermal couple could be shot, that's the little device that controls the heat. If it is the thermal couple it's not that hard of a repair...my hubby has fixed a few of our dryers over the years by changing the thermal couple. Another thing it could be is the switch, you could try putting it on a different setting to see if it generates any heat.

Also check to make sure you didn't accidently put it on air dry...that has happened to me before

.

**quiltingmommy** · 03-06-2008, 10:18 AM

If you grab those tumbling things that stick out of the inside of the dryer (I don't know what they're called) and try and turn the dryer...does it move? Does it make a banging noise? If so, it is the belt. That happened to me last year and I bought a new belt at the appliance store for $13 and googled for directions...took dh and I about 10 minutes to replace.

If it is not the belt, a fuse or air dry, it could be the heating element. Or...I did this once...did you set the timer but not push the start button? The timer will continue to run even if the dryer is not!

If none of these seem like what is happening, I would google "model ### dryer not heating" and see what happens. That's how I found out my 32" tv needed a new fuse for $1.

Good Luck!

**JustMegan79** · 03-06-2008, 10:56 AM

Sounds like the heating element to me. I am not sure if you can fix it yourself if you are pretty mechanically inclined you may be able to with online instructions. Ill google it and repost anything I find.

**JustMegan79** · 03-06-2008, 10:58 AM

I googled "dryer returning clothes cold and wet" and I got an artilce on do it yourself with what could be wrong and how to test/fix it.

Here it is...

http://www.diylife.com/2008/01/28/fi...that-wont-dry/

Hope this helps@!

**RABBIT** · 03-06-2008, 04:04 PM

Thank you for all your replies! The dryer does work, I heard it tumbling around this morning waiting for my clothes to be done, so from your suggestions its got to be either the heating element or the thermal coupling.

A big thank you to JustMegan79 for sending the link. I would never have thought of googling it! I also appreciate the link because I have dial-up and doing anything takes forever.

Mr. Rabbit is pretty good at fixing things so I hope he can fix it. It's only 5 years old.