Dryer that won't heat up
by
Lea Grossman
+43
My dryer stopped heating up... Anyone have any advice abt how to fix this myself so I don't have to pay an electrician for five minutes of work?
44 answers
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Look in the manual about changing the heating element. Hopefully you can pick one up locally and change it out. Mine stopped heating a couple of years ago, and that's what my husband did. Easy enough fix, just time consuming.
R.V.R. Farris
on Nov 07, 2015
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Check the plug in. Did it work loose? OR..most likely the heating coil is bad and will need to be replaced. This is well more than a five minute job, but not impossible if you are somewhat handy.
Fred d
on Nov 07, 2015
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troubleshoot on your brand's web page. Is it lint cleared? Clogged with lint can cause you a problem.
Lee
on Nov 07, 2015
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think it sounds like heating element. i had the same problem a few years ago. it is called a glow plug, and that is what it does plugs in and glows for the heat. my dryer is a sears kenmore. hope this helps! p.s. it is located underneath behine the bottom panel.
Patio200
on Nov 07, 2015
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I dealt with this issue last year.. You'll need the model number to order whatever part you'll need. I did a search for heating elements and twenty different ones popped up. My neighbor took my heating element out and showed me it showed no damage. Yet, after reinstalling the heating element, the dryer still didn't heat. I bought a new dryer.
Charley_Drumm
on Nov 07, 2015
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First thing I would do is to see if the circuit breaker/fuses are good. The dryer will spin on one circuit, the heating is compounded by the other. Use your circuit diagram and a meter. If you are not used to working with electricity, hire someone that is.
Larry Chura
on Nov 07, 2015
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I agree with Larry Chura! I didn't know that the heating compound was on a 2nd circuit about a year ago when my dryer wouldn't heat up. We bought a new one and plugged it in same thing. Come to find out it tripped. We didn't need it in the first place but I kept my new one because I wanted it anyway. lol Gave the old one to someone who needed it. It was like a 1984 one but still worked. lol
Melissa Gutilla
on Nov 07, 2015
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Have you clened lint filter? I had to take my dryer vent, where it goes into floor apart. It was disgustingly full of lint.
Nan1549267
on Nov 08, 2015
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Usually this is a simple fix. Your dryer has two circuits - one for the motor that drives the drum, and the second for the heating element. If you have plug-in type fuses, there will be two for your dryer. Check them both and I bet you'll find that one of them is blown. This happens at my house all the time (ever since we purchased the new Whirlpool dryer!). I happens regularly, about once every couple of months. Replace the blown fuse and you should be good to go. I see another reply for tripped breakers, but not everybody has breakers, so I'm sending this just in case you are one of us who still have fuses (screw-in type P fuses). Lots of older homes are still on fuses and not breakers.
Greg Hill
on Nov 08, 2015
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Before you call anyone, take your lint filter out and run it under very hot water...Dryer sheets create a film on the filter and the air can't circulate...Do this every few months...This came from my neighbor, an appliance repairman...
Lee Moran
on Nov 08, 2015
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Use Greg Hilll's suggestion! The coil. (Coils) in the back May have burned apart, just put them back together! I watched my service man take my dryer apart and fix mine and charge $180.00 so next time I did it myself! To check hold in the button that closes the door, turn dryer on, if element turns red, you did it! Good Luck!
Jud1016678
on Nov 08, 2015
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Ive had this happen. IT must be the heating element.
Jo Michelle
on Nov 08, 2015
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Most likely need a new heat element. This same thing happened to me years ago.
Bla2572686
on Nov 08, 2015
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Check and make sure you OUTSIDE vent is clear !!
Vicki Jankowski
on Nov 08, 2015
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Greg Hill....be careful...you should not have to replace your fuses very often....I would suggest you have an electrical problem in the house....possibly a surge that is blowing fuses....remember a fuse is a safety precaution! the fuse blows because there is another problem....possibly your amp service is not enough to run the dryer. Lea...I would guess that the element is worn out.....but be sure to keep that lint filter and the exhaust at the back cleaned out regularly...this builld p causes fires..
Judy
on Nov 08, 2015
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I agree it is probably the heating element which is fairly easy to replace. Look up your dryer's make & model on the Internet; you can order the heating element and find a tutorial for replacing the element. Best of luck!
Okie51c
on Nov 08, 2015
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The heating element needs to be replaced. There are not very many parts on a dryer. I changed my own. By the way, I am a female.
Debbie
on Nov 08, 2015
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My dryer did this last year and it was the vent pipe. We had an extra vent added to the middle of the pipe and it was preventing it from exhausting properly. We put a straight pipe running outside and it works like new.
Dawna andrews
on Nov 08, 2015
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Go to YouTube, I can always find an answer there. Sounds like a heating element but put the question in and you can usually follow their instructions and find a local appliance parts store and have the model number and name and you can purchase he part for a very minimum price.
Ginny Pringle-Willard
on Nov 08, 2015
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Hi Lea! I have been a very (re)tired contractor=glorified handy person for over 22 years now. I started my business about 35 years ago, so have seen a couple of problems with anything related to homes. I have to disagree with many of the suggestions given. Last over a dozen driers I have fixed for my neighbors and friends, none had a burnt heating element. First I make sure the drier is getting power, then I go inside. After opening the back panel, first I check the heating element with my meter. Next I take out 4 or 5 little doo hickies, which are the sensors looking like big buttons or bars. Then I go to my friendly appliance store and get new parts needed. Pop them back in and VOILA!! most of the time. Takes about 1/2 hour, plus the trip to get the parts. Sometimes, the door switch go bad, too. If the heating element is bad, there is a screw holding the top part of the element. You get it out through a hole in the back of the drier. Here in Bellingham, we have a GREAT store, called Appliance Depot. They teach young people the skills to fix all kinds of appliances and get jobs in the society. They sell fixed appliances, salvage used parts and recycle the rest. They have kept several thousand appliances from the land fill, which is a huge problem all over the world. RECYCLE and RE-USE!!!!!! I have taken many a fritz, washer, or micro wave there, but brought back no driers!! Several times my friends/neighbors ask me to get their old drier delivered to Appliance Depot (or dump!!) and bring back a fixed one. My answer is always the same:NO! Asko, fairly big Finn
Asko, the big Finn
on Nov 08, 2015
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Did you check the exhaust vent outside and clean the lint catcher? That solved our problem a few year's ago.
Pickles Ritchie
on Nov 08, 2015
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Go on you tube and they have tutorials that show you what to look for and what to check. Ours did the same thing last year and hubby was able to fix it for about $40.
Dorothy Hoskins
on Nov 08, 2015
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whatever you do, DO NOT stretch the coil and twist the ends together if it has burnt in two that will be a fire waiting to happen
Delores Snellen
on Nov 08, 2015
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Most likely a thermal fuse. Easy fix and inexpensive part for most dryers. If dryer runs but doesn't heat it's heating element or heating element thermal fuse.
Michael McKissack
on Nov 08, 2015
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Check the fuses in the main electrical panel, (in the house) first, often your dryer runs on 2 fuses, one may be blown!
Melodie Rossi
on Nov 08, 2015
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could be the heating element. Dryers ar simple and easy to repair, you can find all the information online for repair.Help answer this question...
Mary Jeter
on Nov 08, 2015
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Could be lint build-up.. I recently had the same issue.. I snaked the entire hose from the dryer and also where the hose fits into the dryer. You may have to remove the dryer back to get the lint out. I didn't need to do that because my spider monkey fingers & a wire hanger were able to get it. Now my dryer is super fast & hot again. My house could have burned down from this build-up :( (on a side note, my dryer hose is about 12' long because of where it vents outside)
Jenni C.
on Nov 08, 2015
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Jenni C. is right, especially if you have a dryer vent that snakes through the roof instead of directly through an outside wall. Cleaning that vent would be the FIRST thing I would do!
JoAnn Robinson
on Nov 08, 2015
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Sounds to me like the heating element may have failed. Find the model number and search it on Google. Lots of repair sites.
Adrianne C
on Nov 08, 2015
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This is an amazing site that will walk you through step by step on many many appliances including dryers. You can use a generic info or enter your specific dryers info and get the exact type that you have. Very informative. http://www.applianceaid.com/dryer-repair-help.php
Valerie Fanning
on Nov 08, 2015
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I use www.partsselect.com parts are affordable and the site has on line instructions to help I fix it your self
Mis2251836
on Nov 08, 2015
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Just a note of caution...before doing anything, unplug it first. Then proceed with any cleaning or repairs.
Connie
on Nov 08, 2015
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heating element has gone bad. My husband has done this before. It's not hard. Look online for step by step directions
Linda Fraser
on Nov 08, 2015
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Dryer have 2 fuses. 1 for the motor and1 for the heating element. If you have circuit breakers I assume that it would also have two. This the usual problem when our dryer won't heat.
Carolyn Ball-Hanson
on Nov 08, 2015
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This happened to my daughter. We feared the OLD dryer was a goner but turned out to be a fuse in the dryer.
Yvonne Goecke
on Nov 08, 2015
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this happened to my mom, it turned out that the venting was blocked.
Jayne gerow
on Nov 08, 2015
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so was mine
Maggiemae
on Nov 08, 2015
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it could be something simple. i had a lid from a take out cup on top of the dryer and when i cleaned out the lint catcher, it fell in and blocked the hose. make sure nothing has fallen in.
Rub2041917
on Nov 08, 2015
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My electric dryer had two heating elements, and one had gone bad. My husband replaced the bad one and everything was fine.
Zhanna
on Nov 08, 2015
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Thanks for all of ur answers! So helpful!!!!
Lea Grossman
on Nov 09, 2015
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Happened to me - turns out it was a fuse in the dryer. Check your owners manual.
Audrey kammerude
on Nov 09, 2015
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Sometimes just a blocked vent will do that - safety issue.
Valerie Fahey
on Nov 09, 2015
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getting a new heating element is fairly easy, email the manufacturer with model number, it will come with installation instructions. also where your dryer vents to the outside may have a bird nest in it. I have a maintenance guy check my vents couple times a yr.
Judy
on Nov 12, 2015
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Wife you can see your coils that heat up your dryer and they aren't broken, it is probably a thermocoupling. Mine was easy to get to and one screw to take it out. Google your dryer type and there is probably YouTube video on how to repair. Good luck.
Karen Young
on Nov 23, 2015
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