Clothes Dryer Is Hot But Not Drying Clothes

A common issue with clothes dryers is when the venting becomes restricted by lint

If you have ever opened your dryer door and you were hit in the face by a burst of hot air but your clothes were still very wet then  you were looking at a dryer with a restriction in the venting.  

How you can locate a restriction and how to clear it

If your dryer has restricted air flow you will want to follow these steps to isolate the problem. First you should lean over the dryer and you may need a flashlight to really get a look at the dryer vent hose. Look for the hose being folded  over on itself or pinched or flattened by the dryer having been  scooted back on it. This will be the source of your problem. If the vent hose is damaged you will need a new one. They can be found in your local hardware stores. If there is no visible damage then pull out the dryer to gain access behind and then with the machine running simply pull the hose off the wall to see if the dryer is blowing well. If not then reach into the hose to find the lint and scoop it out with your hand.

The restriction can be in the ducting inside your walls or in the attic

If you have determined the dryer blows well then the only conclusion will be blockage within the ducting. This is a bit more difficult to resolve. You could buy a vent cleanout assembly and try doing it yourself or you can call me, Rick Bishop and I'll have  your dryer breathing easy in no time!

Restricted flow can cause components to fail in your dryer

Sometimes a restricted flow goes on un noticed. The first clue would be when you notice your dryer takes longer than it used to in order to fully dry the clothes..  With greater restriction, the hot air isn't able to flow past the components which are in the line of flow. Sensors and safety switches get overworked due to the fact without the air passing over them the heat element or burner super heats these parts. Safety switches often burn out because the sensor that is supposed to shut down the heat never got hot enough  to do that, so instead as the heater becomes dangerously hot the high limit safety finally shuts it down but then it cools and the overheatinh cycle begins again. This condition can present a fire hazard. Also the heat element coils begin to stretch while in the overheated state. Stretching causes the wire coil to thin out in that location. And once the ducting restriction has been resolved it is quite common for the heat element to fail within a week or two. With the restriction gone and the induction of air now passing over the heater coils they  become super heated at the thin area, which then burns itself in two.

House fires from clothes dryers can be traced back through a process of cause and effect, all starting with excessive lint build  up

Several years ago I read an article that states more than 7,000 homes in the US burn to the ground, annually, due to dryer fires. Few people know there are codes regarding the materials and methods for installing dryer venting.  In new housing, these codes are very strict and the only accepted venting material is sheet metal. After a home is built and moved into there are still codes with guidelines for the materials and methods. For example; although sheet metal is still recommended as best practice, rigid aluminum vent hose is acceptable but vinyl  hose is not! Vinyl vent hose deceives most consumers because it looks like aluminum. Also because of it pliability  and ease of installing people are drawn to it. And, even though it is potentially dangerous and does not meet code, all the hardware stores sell it without even a warning about the potential risks in using the vinyl!   Vinyl produces a combustible gas when it reaches high temperatures like that of lint fueled fires which start inside the dryer.