How To Repair Your Whirlpool Dryer If Your Clothes Aren't Getting Dry

Written by Jonathan Gidley Sunday, 10 April 2011 10:50

WARNING!!

WARNING!!

Working with electric dryers is dangerous! Before anything is taken apart by an individual it should be unplugged. Before any tests are done on internal components you should inspect all wires terminals to make sure they are not grounded to avoid further damage to working components. Be mindful of all exposed wires to avoid injury or possible death. Because of the danger involved with repair on such appliances, it is best to have someone with working knowledge (appliance technician) take care of the problem.

If the dryer is not drying well, but still heating:

The 1st thing you'll want to check is the vent. You should check your vent at least once every year, more if you have a lot of bends on the way out of the house. Its recommended that you use 4in. solid aluminum or galvanized pipe and elbows from the dryer to where it exits the house. Its safer and is less likely to get plugged with lint. The best way to check you vent is to gain access to the whole vent running from the dryer to the hood vent. If you have solid vent take it apart piece by piece to make sure its clear. If you have long piece of flexible take it off of each side and worm your arm through cleaning it the best you can. If you did find a lot of lint inside the vent you'll want to check the blower housing next. Once the air flow is blocked the cover starts collecting lint. Unplug the dryer. Before we move to the back of the dryer you'll need to remove the two phillips head screws under the cover of the lint trap. Now you can remove the back panel of the dryer. You'll need a 1/4 or 5/16 in. nut driver to remove the back panel. Once the back panel is out of the way running vertically on the left side is the blower cover, using the 1/4 or 516 in. nut driver remove the screws. You shouldn't have to remove the whole cover just feel carefully inside the bottom part of the cover (the cover can have sharp edges) for any lint built up. If everything was clear and your having this issue, put the cover back on the blower, but leave the back off. Make sure you have no clothes in the dryer. Using a thermometer or digital heat reader, plug the dryer back in and start it. After its ran for around ten min the heat should be getting turned off and back on by the cycling thermostat(4 terminal thermostat mounted on the blower housing). You want to measure the heat when the thermostat cuts the power to the element. What you want coming out of the back is around 165F degrees. Your can find out for sure what the heat rating is by looking at the bi-metal, there should be 25F-155F degree or something close to that. If its never climbing over 150F degrees then change the cycling thermostat. You'll need to search your model number for a list of parts to make sure you get the right one.