The Top 8 Reasons Your Clothes Dryer Doesn’t Heat Up
Have you experienced this problem?
You dump a load of clothes in your dryer and turn it on. It rumbles and tumbles and appears to be working just fine. But the clothes never dry. They remain a soggy, wet mass that just tumbles around inside the dryer until you shut it off.
When that happens, then of course your dryer is failing to fulfill one key aspect of its job: generate heat. And that renders your dryer useless, and prompts a call to a repairman.
In truth, there are lots of things that can go wrong within a dryer to cause this problem. But here are the most likely reasons that your dryer no longer heats up properly:
#1: Thermal Fuse
Your dryer has a thermal fuse that is designed to prevent overheating. But if something has caused the fuse to blow, it will prevent any heating. If that has happened, the fuse will have to be replaced.
#2: Flame Sensor
Similar to the thermal fuse in electric dryers, the flame sensor is designed to prevent overheating in gas dryers. If it malfunctions, it could prevent the dryer from generating heat.
#3: Gas Valve Solenoid
If you have a gas dryer, it might be that no gas is getting into the burner assembly. That can sometimes happen when one of the solenoids that control the gas valve fails.
#4: Igniter
Gas dryers have an igniter that use electricity to ignite the gas at the beginning of a burn cycle. If the igniter fails, then no flame means no heat. Igniters are like light bulbs in that it’s not uncommon for them to burn out.
#5: Heating Element
Electric dryers use a heating element to generate heat. And just like igniters in gas dryers, it’s common for elements to burn out. In fact, if your dryer is in service for many years you can expect to replace the heating element at least once.
#6: Thermostat
Just like the thermostat that controls the furnace in your home, your dryer has a thermostat (or thermistor) designed to control the heat level in the dryer. If the thermostat fails, it could prevent the dryer from generating any heat at all.
#7: Main Control Board
The control board is the “brain” of your dryer. It controls the functions of the dryer, including generating heat. If your dryer doesn’t generate the proper heat, it could indicate a defective control board.
#8: Timer
Your dryer’s timer is responsible for controlling the progression through the different phases of the drying cycle. If the timer has failed, it’s possible that your dryer is perfectly capable of generating heat, but the timer just doesn’t tell it to do so. A failed motor is often at the root of malfunctioning timers.