Rust on dryer drum - Dryers

you needto replace your dry drum .

For my Frigidaire manufactured Kenmore dryer, the stainless steel drum is part ordinary painted steel (front flange). That flange is part of the suspension for the drum. The flange rides on a nylon wear pad above the door. On both sides of the pad, there is a felt that is glued to the dryer front panel to act as a seal. What happens is that the paint on the ordinary steel flange rubs through and rusts, staining clothes during the drying cycle. I have to replace the nylon pad and felts every few years to combat the rusting issue. The felt and nylong pad assembly is glued to the cabinet flange using heat resistant adhesive.

I had the same problem. Unfortunately, it is caused by a rusting drum edges, if you can believe it. My dryer was only 6 years old when this problem occured. There are felt gaskets on the front and back of the drums where it contacts and rotates on the frame of the dryer. You can take a white cloth and run it around the rim of the front and back of the drum and I suspect you will end up with some discoloration on the cloth. I had these felt gaskets replaced, but that is only a temp solution. When the drum is taken out and the old felt gaskets are removed, you can clean the edges of the drum and get a lot of rust/brown off the drum. New gaskets are only a temp fix. I did it about 1 1/2 yr ago, and I think the problem is starting again. Probably time for a new dryer or time to pull the drum and clean it. New drum probably cost prohibitive if you can get one. What a bunch of **** for a 7 1/2 old dryer. Next dryer will have a stainless steel drum. Hope this explanation helps you with your problem.
Steve

Hi Witt and welcome to FixYa. I am Kelly.

The brown streaks are most likely rust. There are drum seal replacement kits you can buy to start anew. The streak source need to be identified. If the drum is rusted your going to have to sand and paint it with an enamel appliance paint. However.... if it is the back of the cabinet that is the source of the rust in the felt seal rub area if you do not allow the paint to dry well before reassembly it will end up flaking off on your clothes.

Here is the drum seal with adhesive:

http://www.appliancepartspros.com/Appliance-Parts/WHIRLPOOL-Rear-drum-felt-seal-with-adhesive--red-thread--item-number-AP3094149.aspx

Once you in there I would replace the belt and inspect the drum rollers.

Belt:

http://www.appliancepartspros.com/Appliance-Parts/WHIRLPOOL-Whirlpool-Dryer-Belt-item-number-AP2946843.aspx

Rollers:

http://www.appliancepartspros.com/part_details.aspx?part_id=3098345

The belt I would replace... Just make sure if you attempt repair that you NOTE the routing of the dryer belt through the idle pulley to the motor pulley.

If the rollers rotate freely with no teetering froward or aft and do not have any flat spots you do not have to replace them.

Appliance paint by color needed:

http://www.appliancepartspros.com/Appliance-Parts/?keyword=Appliance+paint


Thanks for using FixYa

Kelly

Apparently a common problem with 4-5 year old Kenmore and Whirlpool dryers. The paint is rubbed off the back panel by the felt seal attached to the rotating drum. The bare metal gets rusty from the damp clothes. The rust is rubbed off by the felt seal. The entire felt seal will turn brown. The stains are transfered to the clothes. The rust stains can generally be removed by additional cleaning.
I'm going to replace the felt seal on the drum, clean the rust off the back panel and see how long it lasts. Seal w/ adhesive is $30-40.
Some have suggested painting the back panel, but i don't think fresh paint is going to last long. The original paint was probably electrostatically applied and maybe baked on.

Hi
If you find a good plasticizing epoxy it should work great for this most plastic epoxies can withstand temperatures up to 500 degrees F. I dont see the hot water supply feeding the machine getting any warmer than this. Another option would be to find someone with a plastic fusion and filler welder and just weld the hole shut with a base material.

OR
Follow this easy steps...
Unplug the dryer from the electrical socket to avoid accidental electrocution.
Sand or scrub the rust spots using steel wool or sandpaper. Rust creates pits and these pits need to be smooth, like the rest of the drum areas, to prevent the rust from getting worse and to allow touch-up paint to stick.
Clean the entire inside of the drum to remove all the dust left from sanding/scrubbing. Mild soap and water will work well. Use old rags that can be thrown away.
Let the drum dry completely. You can run your dryer on the fluff dry cycle for a few minutes to dry the drum faster. If you use a heat cycle, the drum will become too hot and you will have to wait while it cools
Apply an appliance paint (see Resources) in the color that most closely matches your drum. Use the applicator that comes with the paint to dab the paint on the rust spots. You may need to add more than one coat, but make sure that you are letting the first coat dry before adding more to avoid drip marks. Allow all coats of paint to dry thoroughly before using the dryer.

Thanks for contacting fixya.com

ck rear (or front if it has one)drum seals they tend to develop rust stains over time the rust comes off on clothes leaving brown streaks ..seals will need to be replaced although you may try a bleach and water solution first drum will need to be removed to replace seals

drum seal tends to change to a rust color after a few years of use 2 options replace both front and rear seal(best) or remove drum and try to clean both seals with bleach /water solution or spray cleaner with bleach ..if seals are not worn to bad this may work as a tempory fix

if that mark is comming from the dryer .the drum has a rust. and you cant paint it or the seal of the drum is bad that seal is around the drum.

Best thing to try is scrubbing with a dry plastic scourer (scotchbrite) and see if the rust is just a tiny bit on the surface or if there is quite deep rust. if the rust is shallow and comes off easily, once you have scrubbed it off, it is relatively unlikely to come back, possibly once more, then you should find it is gone for ever. If the rust is deep and hard to remove then the quality of the metal is either poor by design or by lack of quality control. you can find all sorts of products to stop or cover the rust - if you wanted to paint it, clean as much rust off as possible first, buy a "rust converter" product from a hardware store and a really good quality enamel paint designed for metal with a primer. try a small patch first just to check it is ok when you dry a load. Replacing the drum itself is technically relatively simple, however there are numerous other parts which have to be moved or detached and some replaced, so unless you have easy access to spares then it is not worth the trouble, and the labour bill will not be realistic compared to a new dryer. replacement drums can probably be found, although kenmore are particularly well known for a lack of spares support - prices can vary hugely depending on the number left in stock and the number of that model that were made in the first place. I would be surprised to get one for less than $100 - more like $200. properly done, painting works fine, so it is a good cheap option. Hope this helps - ask again if you need more help, and see if you can post a photo of the rust. :)