My 2 year old dryer is making me crazy!

It started out staining clothes with a brown 'rust' looking stain. We think it was pulling clothes into the edge of the drum.

Then, it started tearing holes into the clothing while they were drying.

Now its is making a AWFUL screeching sound. Its the kind that gives headaches and hurts the ears.

Is it possible to save the dryer, or cheaper and easier to buy a new one?
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03-13-06, 12:23 PM
DvdGStwrt
The sound of the thing may mean the belt/idler wheel and/or drum is off track.

As to ripping clothing and leaving rust spots... Ripping of clothing means they are snagging on something, since dryers are smooth on the inside the only place that clothing can snag is around the door. There should be an equal gap all around the edge of the drum where it meets the door opening. Most door frames lap over the lip of the drum to prevent the loss of items. If the drum is wobblig during operation the gap will open and close catching clothing.

Since there is the sound we can assume that the drum is off track - this is relatively easy to repair and happens a lot with dryers. The Drum of a dryer is usually belt driven. On the motor there is a smaller wheel the drum acts like the larger secondary wheel. Most dryers I have seen have a third smaller wheel that has a spring/tensioning screws which is loosened to allow the belt to slip off of the drum and out of the track of the motor wheel. It is much like the fan belt in your car except longer. Sometimes the belt slips on the drum causing the drum to wobble, other times the tensioning wheel loosens letting the belt slip.

I doubt the brown spots are rust, I'm thinking more like singe marks. I'm assuming that the drum is off track/wobbling/unbalanced thus most likely turning slower than it should allowing hot spots to form on the drum walls. OR it could be that your dryer has been subject to excess heat build-up which lead to warping/melting of internal parts which resulted in the drum/drive belt throwing the drum out of aligment. An interesting triva bit about the spin of a dryer, The speed of the spin was the most difficult thing for the inventor to figure out, too fast and the clothing does not "tumble" instead it sticks to the sides. Too slow and the clothing rolls up into a tight ball, thus not drying fast enough.

Since the belt is rubber too much heat can cause it to stretch. Excess heat build up is readily had by a clogged vent outlet those. Ideally the vent hose is supposed to be inspected every 6 months for lint build up, changed once a year to maintain efficency of the appliance. The vent is composed of two parts, the wall hole (which is smooth metal/plastic parts venting to the outside - some vents may have a screen to prevent small animals from entering, and a spring hose. The spring hose is not so smooth on the inside due to the foil wrapped spring making a series of grooves. Lint attaches and can build up rather fast leading to decreased airflow.

All of these thus far are easily repairable. Most owner manuals come with simple instructions that the owner can follow to slip the old belt off, install a new one, tension properly, and of course the vent hose easily slips on/off.

HOWEVER, it is also possible that warping of the tension wheel or some other internal part has taken place.

http://www.expertappliance.com/dryerbeltconfiguration.html gives an illustration of the belt tension/idler wheel and motor wheel. As you can see different manufacturers all have these however use different configurations (placements) of the parts.

An Appliance repair man can do the job and inspect for other damage that may have been caused, At the same time I would request that the vent hose be repalaced and the vent through the wall be inspected for clogging and cleaned out of neccessary.

DO NOT run the machine until the belt is replaced. Running te machine can cause permanment, irrepairable damage which meas that your machine is scrape metal.

I do know that Maytag drums have a groove cut near the place the belt is supposed to go. Making it more difficult to properly seat the belt... Some personal experience I had.

03-13-06, 12:30 PM
shelster
Wow....

You are awesome!

I am going to email your reply to hubby and see if he wants to tackle the job....

Thanks David!

03-13-06, 06:00 PM
shelster
Ok, so hubby doesn't want to be bothered, and went shopping for a new one.

Does anyone have opinions on which brand is better...Maytag or GE?

He is looking at a 'Neptune' dryer...

03-13-06, 07:04 PM
DorianGreyed
Every laundromat I have ever seen has Maytag, and it isn't because they are cheap. Speed Queen was started by former Maytag workers, so that may be a slightly cheaper alternative.

03-14-06, 09:50 AM
aminator2002
I know old wisdom is that Maytag is a good brand but they are also a brand that has millions of dollars in lawsuits pending against them due to mildew growth within their washers. It is specifically related to Maytag Neptune front loading washers and the stackable version. For this reason and because in my opinion their new model doesn't solve the problem, their service departments are completely overwhelmed and unavailable.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/maytag_lawsuit.html

The reputation of the old Maytag man is going in the toilet. I deal with this stuff every day so trust me that you want to stay away from Maytag... you will not see the Maytag man not because you don't have problems but because he's too busy to fit you in for the next month.

General Electric also makes good and reliable dryers. GE Profile has a lot of nice features. We've installed hundreds of GE dryers and never had any problems. My favorite washer and dryer are the front loading Whirlpool units but they are quite expensive.

03-14-06, 11:18 AM
shelster
Thanks for the info.

I forwarded it on to hubby.

Big Grin

03-16-06, 04:45 PM
shelster
Ami, do you have an opinion on Kenmore? We found one of those we liked as well.

03-16-06, 06:48 PM
coldfuse
Kenmore is a Sears brand; many of their dryers have historically been manufactured by Whirlpool. My first Kenmore dryer lasted for 20 years with next to no problems and my parents have one that was bought, I believe, around 1988.

If you join their website, you can get ratings on appliances and other products at www.consumerreports.org

03-17-06, 07:30 AM
aminator2002
Kenmore is very reliable and I believe Fuse is right about the manufacturing by Whirlpool.

I don't have a lot of experience with Kenmore in the homes I build but I know from talking to coworkers and others that the reliability is very good.

03-17-06, 09:35 AM
shelster
Awesome.

Thanks guys!

03-17-06, 03:15 PM
sheanima
My mother never used anything but Kenmore. But regardless of the brand, she never bought the lowest priced. It was either the medium or, more often the upper priced product. Then again, of course, quality control of a business can change over the years, depending on who currently reigns in leadership.

I like coldfuse's suggestion on the Consumer Reports website. I'm glad he posted it. I wonder if I can use it to find out about computers...

03-18-06, 06:21 PM
shelster
Well, we were going to get a Kenmore that had some cool features (it would spin every so often without heat, just so the things in there wouldn't wrinkle)

But when hubby went to Sears to get it, they didn't have any in stock. We just can't wait any longer, the dryer in the house now is eating everything we own, and everything that isn't eaten is dirty. (AND I HATE going to the laundromat). So he ended up running to Lowe's and got a Whirlpool that has all the bells and whistles the Kenmore had.

Hope this one works out better than the last.
03-20-06, 06:33 PM
honilov
Good brand Shel. Whirlpool is my favorite.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DorianGreyed,