Having a washing machine and dryer in the home is an excellent benefit to keeping your clothes clean, fresh, and lasting longer. You’re in control of the process, and home machines can be pretty gentle on clothing.
Yet there are points when we need to give some love and care to be able to maintain the longevity of our dryer machine. After all, according to recent reports from US EPA data points, dryer machines are big consumers of electricity, so it’s essential that they are running efficiently at all times.
Also, with the proper maintenance of your drying machine, it’s one of the longest-lasting appliances that, with appropriate care, can easily last up to 13-14 years, as seen below.
Yet what are the best ways to be able to handle maintenance and repairs on your dryer, so you don’t always have to call a repair service and end up spending unnecessary money to keep your dryer functioning?
There are several options to help keep your dryer cool and not have to head to a public laundromat when your dryer starts to go on the fritz. After all – that’s the whole reason we invested in a washer and dryer system instead of actually having to leave the house to have clean clothes.
Clean the vents
source: fredsappliance.com
A common misconception is that clothes dryers are only there to dry your clothes. They’re also there to eliminate lint and other clothing particles to give your clothes that clean, uniform texture. That’s why we utilize dryer sheets and other fabric softeners.
Unfortunately, this clothing debris ends up getting into the lint trap, and that’s easy enough to clean (and should be cleaned after every drying session). Yet it doesn’t stop there. You’ve got a lot of ventilation coming out of your drying machine, and they need to be checked and cleaned regularly.
Even partially clogged vents need to be vacuumed and wiped down to make sure that the airflow is as open as possible. If you do not check this, the built-in thermostats will keep tripping the electricity and causing other components to overheat.
Check the Thermistor
source: rd.com
This is a relatively new functional piece that comes in more modern-day dryers. As we already know, dryers can last quite some time, but if you purchased one in recent years, you might have this specific piece in it.
The Thermistor is basically a piece directly connected to the control areas of the drying machine with the sole purpose of regulating the temperature within the dryer. It’s a highly sensitive piece of equipment, as one can imagine, and although very durable, it can still sometimes break down.
Checking it regularly and cleaning the Thermistor (when the dryer is off and unplugged) is an excellent way to be able to maintain the optimal efficiency of the dryer.
This is one of the simplest ways to be able to make sure that your dryer doesn’t overheat and produce too much heat due to a dirty or faulty thermistor. If you clean this piece, you should see an immediate improvement in the next dryer cycle, as long as it’s functioning correctly.
You might have to replace the Dryer Thermal Fuse
source: fredsappliance.com
The dryer thermal fuse might sound like an extremely complicated piece that requires an expert technician. In fact, it’s one of the most straightforward DIY repairs you can do to your dryer machine, as long as you have the right parts.
There’s a lot of information out there about taping up and bypassing the dryer thermal fuse. Still, in reality, it’s such a critical piece, and for safety reasons, it’s always a good idea to simply replace it.
You can do a spot check with a multimeter to see if both sides are active. If either side is inactive, there’s a good chance your thermal fuse is blown. A dryer thermal fuse is a standard piece of equipment, and there’s only one model for it, which is the 3392519.
If you are able to look for a 3392519 dryer thermal fuse, you’ll see something that looks like a plug. It goes to the back of the dryer, and all it takes is unscrewing some components as well as pulling out the old fuse and replacing it with the new 3392519 dryer thermal fuse.
This can end up saving not only a lot of time waiting for a repairer but also a lot of money. These fuses max can cost from a few dollars to no more than $20 for a set of fuses. Just bear in mind that the next time you consider needing to call a service request. Sometimes the model numbers might also look like W3392519 or WP3392519, but they are all the same.
Check your spacing and location
source: energy.gov
Although it might seem common sense, the location of where you are placing your washer/dryer setup makes sense. Remember, airflow is essential, so even if you have everything scrubbed down and there’s still no proper ventilation, that could be a big problem.
Think of it this way; if the hot air the dryer is venting outstays within the room, then the whole room will start to heat up. If there’s no proper ventilation for the heat, it could also get stuck within the dryer, making it unnecessarily hot. Good airflow dynamics are key in keeping your dryer cool.
Look at your door switch
This is another item that has replaceable parts readily available for many models and only requires the use of a screwdriver in many cases. There’s usually a sensor that works with the dryer door to know when it’s actually closed.
If this ends up becoming faulty in any capacity, it will cause the dryer to not know when to shut off as it won’t know if the cycle is done. That means it’ll keep on running until someone manually opens the dryer door and prompts the manual shut-off that comes with it.
There are some instances where even the open door will not shut it down, and thus you’ll have to manually unplug the dryer and get into the control board to be able to see where the issue is. All of this will cause your dryer to generate unnecessary heat beyond the amount it’s supposed to, causing everything to overheat.
In the end
source: pinterest.com
Keep in mind there are a lot of safety features in newer models and a lot of sensors to help keep your dryer optimal and the heating at a minimum. That means there’s a lot of troubleshooting you can do before the need to call in an expert and spend too much money on those repairs.
For those instances where you need to DIY, it’s really not as complicated as you think with your dryer because, at the most, you’ll only need a few key parts, such as a 3392519-dryer thermal fuse that can easily be replaced within an hour at the most, once you find out the location of where yours might be.
Your manual for the dryer should let you know where all the pieces are, and if not, you can always find those manuals online for easy consumption. Whenever looking for dryer components that need replacement, visit some seller’s store on Amazon such as BlueStars. You will get the solution you need in just 2 days and do your DIY repairs.
