Lint is stuck in door seal and clothes are not drying

Dryer venting issues slow drying, fire flare ups, to hot, noise and clothes ripping etc

A lint filter that is full of lint will restrict airflow and lengthen dry times.
A blower wheel that is not firmly attached to the drive motor can slip and therefore not move air fast enough to properly dry clothes or even reduce airflow to the point where the high limit thermostat may trip and turn off the heat circuit.
In gas dryers, defective gas valve coils can create a symptom of taking too long to dry if they are intermittent. Check for proper flame ignition for the complete dry cycle to determine if this may be the cause.

The drum seals are used to prevent excess air from entering the dryer drum and act as a cushion between the drum and the front and rear bulkheads. The drum seals are made up of a felt like material. If the seal is torn or is worn then clothing can become stuck in the gap when the drum is turning. This can produce a scraping or thumping noise and the clothes can also be ripped and/or have black marks on them.
DOOR SEAL When the door is closed in gas and electric dryers the door seal helps to keep cooler air from entering the drum.

The vent tube or line itself. If it is kinked, smashed, to long, or filled, clogged with lint build up it can not only cause slow dry times but create a fire safety hazard. Try to stay away from using plastic or flimsy cellophane venting, aluminum is best!

To provide better air flow and heat dissipation try the following
Note the length of your dryer vent is a determining factor in how efficient your dryer will perform. If the total length of your pipe exceeds 25 feet then your dryer simply won't be able to perform as should, especially if your pipe runs vertically and through the roof. This is where a booster fan is sometimes needed. Booster Fans provide the extra push of air to exhaust the moisture and lint to the outside. These fans operate only when the dryer is activated, this is done by sensing the air flow through the pipe by a pressure switch mechanism or an electrical sensing relay which in turn activates the booster fan blower. I personally try to avoid adding booster fans simply because they are usually placed in a crawl space or attic and are therefore "Out of sight and out of mind." What I mean is... the unit could malfunction and you would never be aware of it. The result would be a restriction in the pipe which would cause a build up of lint at the fan. In addition, it's recommended that lint traps be placed before the fan itself which has to be cleaned out frequently. These can also easily be overlooked.

Good Morning David, thank you for allowing me to assist you!

I understand your dryer is experiencing lack of heat. There are several factors that could cause this; some of which you can check prior to scheduling a professional.

Have you checked your lint filter recently? I ask because if a lint filter is full of lint it will restrict airflow and lengthen dry times. To keep your dryer working correctly, clean out the lint folder area after each and every use. Check the lint filter for any buildup of fabric softener that will also restrict airflow and wash with soapy water to clean. If the filter is damaged then it will need to be replaced.

Additionally to checking the lint trap area, please investigate the ventilation (duct work) system connecting to your dryer. Often we forget to clean this duct work therefore over time debris can restrict air flow. Check the air flow by disconnecting the accordion-like duct work from the dryer appliance. Run a drying cycle, with clothes inside the unit, but keeping the duct work disconnected. If you notice any improvement, then the ventilation duct work (often going through your floor or side wall) will need to be thoroughly cleaned. Also make sure you do not have multiple turns or kinks in the duct work. The more curves or turns this duct system has to take to exit the air outside, the more restricted it can get. The more restriction you experience the more time it will take the unit to dry.

Do you notice any unusual rumbling or rubbing noise when in use? This could indicate a faulty blower wheel. A blower wheel that is not firmly attached to the motor can slip and therefore not move air fast enough to properly dry clothes or even reduce airflow to the point where the high limit thermostat (a fuse like component) may trip and turn off the heat circuit. A loose blower wheel will usually make a rumbling noise that is easily noticed. Inspecting the blower wheel is usually a task for a professional considering you must take apart most of your appliance to make sure it is tight to the motor shaft.

If you have a gas dryer, gas valves could also cause you an issue. Defective gas valves can create a symptom of taking too long to dry if they are intermittent and require professional attention. A professional is needed to check for proper flame ignition for a complete drying cycle to determine if this may be your point of concern.

On many dryers you will find "drum seals" in between the unit's drum and the front door. The drum seals are used to prevent excess air from entering the dryer drum and act as a cushion between the drum and the front and rear access. The drum seals are made up of a felt like material. If the seal is torn, or is worn, then clothing can become stuck in the gap when the drum is turning. This can produce a scraping or thumping noise and the clothes can also be ripped and/or have black marks on them. This will also affect your drying time tremendously.

While you are checking the drum seals please check the door of your dryer as well. When the door is closed in gas and electric dryers the door seal helps to keep cooler air from entering the drum. Keeping the correct temperature at all times inside the dryer ensures that the clothes will dry efficiently. If clothes are not drying then inspect the door seal for signs that it may be worn or damaged.

If none of the above solutions prove to be successful, it would be advisable to contact an experiencing repair tech to assist further.

Best of luck!

Hey Car Guy,.. there are two factors that determine how fast the clothes will dry:
1- air temperature, Is the gas burner is lighting and heating the air? Just stop the dryer mid-cycle and feel the clothes - if they are hot, then the burner/heating part of the dryer is working ok.

2 - adequate air going through the dryer. This is usually where the problem lies. There is a lint filter at the dryer somewhere, accessed either where the door opens, or on the top of the dryer....there may be an additional lint filter somewhere on the exhaust duct. Check for that, and check your air flow where it exhausts outslde. See that the flappers of the backdraft damper aren't stuck closed etc.

If you have good heat and good air flow, then it's doing all it can.

You will need to check all the duct work for lint buildup. This is the reason clothes won't dry or take a few cycles to dry.

Hi,
The cycling or operating thermostatis often the problem when a dryer runstoo hot, but there are also other things that can make it run hot also.

Here is a tip that I wrote that gives more details about why a clothes dryer will get too hot.

Clothes Dryergetting too hot

heatman101
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Hello.

suggestions about things they can do to troubleshoot commonproblems.

Instructions

• 1 Open the dryer door and remove the lint screen ifthe clothes are not dry after a drying cycle completes. Remove the lint fromthe lint screen and replace the screen. The dryer ought to dry more efficientlyafter the lint screen is cleaned.

• 2 Open your home's breaker box if the dryer is notturning on or no indicator lights are visible on the front panel. If theswitches for the dryer in the breaker box are flipped to "Off," flipthe switches over to the "On" position.

• 3 Remove some of the clothing in the dryer or drysmaller loads if you notice that the clothing is wrinkled when you finishdrying a load. Larger loads cause the clothing to wrap around one another whendrying, increasing the likelihood of wrinkles.

• 4

Pull the dryer unit away from the wall and checkon the position and arrangement of the exhaust vent. An exhaust vent that ispinched between the wall and the appliance or an exhaust vent that is kinkedcan't allow air to flow through it properly, making it difficult for theappliance to dry properly.

• 5

Make sure the door is closed if the dryerdoes notrun. Also check to make sure that you hold in the "Start" button forat least a second. Pressing the button for less than a second may not give thethe dryer enough time to recognize the button has been pressed and that itshould start.

Thanks for using fixya.

Hi and welcome to FixYa. I am Kelly.

Lets talk about the physics of changing drying temps mid cycle. The dryer has built up an average temperature that is high when you had high selected. The clothes are hot. The drum is hot and the chassis / ducting is also hot. It can take almost 10 minutes for that residual heat to be removed before you notice that the drying temp has changed.

Having said that, there are a few things to check as to why it is taking an extended period to dry your clothes and why the dryer seems to be running hot.

1. Check the outside dryer vent flapper for lint build up.

2. Check the ducting for lint fromt he dryer exit to the outside vent flapper.

3. Remove the lint filter and look for lint build up around the lint filter ducting. (if it needs cleand do NOT use anything sharp to remove the lint.) A vacuume crevice tool and an old coat hanger folded in half works great.

After checking all of the above and making sure they are ALL clean, try your mid cycle change again an see if it takes less time to notice a difference.

If it is still taking a long time there may be a problem with the temp selector switch.

That is it for now.

Thanks for using FixYa.

Kelly

More than likely, the motor centrifugal switch is stuck. You should be able to turn off the element with the timer control switch. If the timer switch is on and the dryer is not running, the element should be off, unless the motor contact is stuck closed. You will have to get to the motor and 'un stick' the contact.Its a bit tricky, you may need help.

If you need further help, I’m available over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/craig_3fa289bf857b1a3c

If you can turn it on and have the door open, hold the door switch in and see if you have a glow from the heating element. If not, your element is broken. That is if it is an electric dryer. If it is a gas dryer you need to check the pilot light or the thermo sensor.

Check the complete venting system, the lint collector may be clean, but what about the vent outside?

Sgt 48