Dryer Not Drying Your Clothes Properly? Here's Why

Most decent modern dryers are extremely efficient and reliable. However, even the highest quality appliances can occasionally go wrong and it is for this reason our dryer duct cleaning team decided to put together today’s guide on malfunctioning dryers, specifically those machines that are no longer able to dry clothes effectively. If you should take your clothes out of the dryer one day, only to find they are still somewhat wet, you can troubleshoot your appliance by working your way through this guide, step by step. And if you are looking for professional help in Arvada, please do not hesitate to contact us at any time. We offer a full range of dryer vent and duct cleaning services to local residents, businesses and state-owned enterprises.

Why Your Dryer May Be Failing to Dry Your Clothes

If you suddenly find that your dryer is no longer doing what you expect it to do, i.e. getting your clothes dry, there are several potential faults that may be at the root of the problem. If you wish to try and troubleshoot it yourself, our Arvada dryer vent cleaning technicians recommend looking for the following issues first:

Blocked Dryer Vent

Your dryer vent is there to perform a very important function: to vent the moist air that is created as a result of the drying process. As your clothes are exposed to the heat in your dryer, they release the moisture they contain into the surrounding air. This moist air is then drawn away and vented outside your home. In the event that your dryer vent becomes blocked, the moist air will be trapped inside the drum and the moisture will then be reabsorbed by your clothes. Because of this, when the drying cycle is finished and you open the door to remove your clothing, it will still be almost as wet as when it went in.

If your clothes are coming out of the dryer as wet as they went in and you also notice fragments of lint collecting around the filter, there is a very good chance that a blocked vent is causing all of your problems. Another sign that your vent may be blocked is excessive heat coming from the appliance when it is being operated. If you suspect a blocked vent, we recommend searching for “dryer cleaning near me” or “air duct cleaning near me” and making a note of the most reputable looking companies that you find. You can then contact 2 or 3 of these firms and ask them to tell you how much their dryer vent / duct cleaning services cost, and when they might be able to visit.

Broken or Jammed Drive Belt

The most obvious sign that your dryer’s drive belt is broken or jammed will be a lack of rotation, i.e. the drum is not moving round when the dryer is running. However, as the door must be fully closed and locked before your dryer will run, it may not be very easy to tell whether the drum is rotating or not. If you cannot tell from observing it during a drying cycle, we suggest that you open the door to pause the cycle, note the position of the clothes inside, then close the door and let it run for another few seconds before opening the door to pause the cycle again. If your clothes are still in exactly the same position, you can safely conclude that the drum is not rotating and that the most likely cause of this issue is a jammed or broken belt. What you should do next will depend on whether or not you are qualified to maintain and repair electrical appliances. If you are not, under no circumstances would we recommend that you try to fix or replace the belt by yourself. Instead, we urge you to contact a suitably qualified and experienced local professional and ask them to come and take a look at your dryer as soon as possible.

Faulty Heating Element

The easiest way to tell whether you have a faulty heating element is to let your machine run for a while then pause the cycle by opening the door as you did in the previous step. Now put your hand inside to feel your clothes. If they are not warm, there is a very good chance that the heating element is broken, or the thermal fuse designed to protect your dryer from overheating needs to be replaced. In either case, as with the previous fault, we don’t recommend that you try to fix or replace the fuse or the element unless you are a fully qualified and licensed electrician with experience in this particular field. Instead, we advise you to call a local specialist and ask them to come and fix your machine.

Super Absorbent Fabrics/Cloths

A commonly overlooked reason for clothes coming out of the dryer wet is super absorbent fabrics/cloths. If you put your clothes in the same cycle as large bath towels or rugs, you may well find that everything is still wet at the end of the drying cycle. The solution in this case is simply to dry these super absorbent items separately.

If you should find that none of the above issues apply to your dryer, we advise you to get in touch with a professional technician rather than continuing to try and diagnose the fault yourself. And of course, if the cause of your problem turns out to be a blocked vent, and you live in Arvada, our dryer vent cleaning experts will be delighted to come and clear the blockage for you.

We also offer a range of HVAC cleaning services so if you have a central ducted air system in your home, don’t hesitate to call and ask for details of our air duct and furnace cleaning services too (if you live elsewhere and you are looking for HVAC duct cleaning and maintenance services, try searching for “air duct cleaning near me”).