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How to Troubleshoot an Electric Clothes Dryer that Takes Too Long to Dry

Clothes Dryer

Last year I had a contractor do some minor construction on my house. Because it was in the way, he had to move the electric clothes dryer vent. The existing vent was too short to reuse, so the contractor installed a whole new one. One day I realized something was wrong- instead of taking 30 minutes to dry a load of laundry, my dryer was now taking 50 minutes, or more! Read this money-saving article and find out how to troubleshoot an electric clothes dryer that takes too long to dry!

1. Check the Clothes You’re Trying to Dry – Are They Too Wet?
If the load you put in your washing machine was too heavy, your washer may not have been able to spin enough water out of them.

Remedy: Place the load of clothes back in the washer and set the dial on the “Spin Cycle. You may have to do this a couple of times. You may even have to divide the load in half to spin the excess water out.

2. Check Your Electric Clothes Dryer – Is It Overloaded With Clothes?
Troubleshooting an electric clothes dryer that takes too long to dry may be as simple as reducing the size of your washer loads. A dryer that’s overloaded takes much more time – and money – to dry your laundry. It also causes wrinkled clothing.

3. Check the Lint Traps On Your Electric Clothes Dryer
In order for your dryer to operate at its peak performance, you should check the lint traps after each and every load. Lint in the filters reduces the air flow which makes the dryer take longer to dry your laundry.

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4. Check the Exhaust Vent to Make Sure It’s Not Plugged With Lint
If your electric clothes dryer takes too long to dry your laundry, the problem might lie in the exhaust vent. A build-up of lint will limit the efficiency of the exhaust. It can also cause a fire. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), there are about 15,500 fires caused by clothes dryers every year.

Remedy: Check the end of the exhaust vent where it exits from your home. If you see lint hanging out of the louvered vent cover, the pipe needs cleaned out. If that looks clear, troubleshoot your electric clothes dryer by disconnecting the end of the exhaust vent from the dryer. Use a flashlight and look as far as you can into the end of the vent pipe. If you see lint, the pipe needs cleaned out.

Buy a dryer exhaust vent brush at your local hardware or home supply store to clean your dryer exhaust vent out thoroughly. You can buy extensions if your vent is unusually long. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions in order to achieve the best results.

Thereafter, keep the exhaust vent open, energy-efficient and safe by cleaning it out once or twice a year. How often you need to clean it out depends on how much you use your electric clothes dryer.

5. Inspect the Exhaust Vent for Kinks and Other Constrictions in the Metal
To troubleshoot an electric clothes dryer that takes too long to dry, inspect the entire dryer exhaust pipe. If there are kinks, crushed places, and other constrictions in the metal, those will also restrict the air flow.

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Also, if your electric clothes dryer has always taken too long to dry since it was hooked up, make sure the dryer exhaust pipe is the correct size. This is what I found was wrong with my dryer. The contractor used a 3-inch metal pipe when he should have used a 4-inch pipe.

Remedy: Rip the existing out by disconnecting it from the dryer, as well as from the vent cover where it exits your house. Measure the pipe and buy a new one that’s the correct size at your hardware or home supply store. You may need to buy elbows, connectors, and other miscellaneous parts so you can hook the dryer exhaust vent up correctly.

As soon as I did this, my electric clothes dryer was able to dry a load of clothes in 30 minutes or less, as opposed to the 50+ minutes it was taking after the contractor left.

Conclusion
These are simple troubleshooting tips for an electric clothes dryer. If none of them fix the problem, it could be a faulty door gasket, a fan that needs tightened or replaced, a heating element going bad, et cetera. Consult a repairman for further repairs.