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Check your clothes dryer!

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Katastrophe

Katastrophe

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Mrs. Kat was washing and drying some clothes this morning, and we started to smell an unusual odor. I tracked it down to the dryer. Pulled the front panel off (thanks for the instructions, YouTube!), and discovered that the lint trap wasn't trapping all the lint, allowing it to get everywhere inside the dryer, particularly around the electrical connections.

I pulled mounds of black, charred lint out of the dryer. Luckily, we managed to catch it before the appliance, and our apartment, caught fire.

It seems like a silly thing, and we clean the lint trap out at the end of every load. Our dryer is a Samsung front loader model. It's supposed to be one of those efficient "green" models that uses less power to do the job.

If you've got a clothes dryer that you've had for a while (this one is about three years old), check the lint trap, and make sure that sucker is cleaned out.

I'm off to continue cleaning out the dryer before I have to go to work.
 
Good tip, Kat. I have a set of Kenmore W&D that I bought around 20 years ago. They've been absolutely rock-solid from day one, and I haven't had to replace even one thing on them. We do check the lint trap after every load, and there's never been any weirdness with smells...but thanks to your post, I'll be paying closer attention now.
 
I've never had this problem, either. I think it may have something to do with the design of the dryer, as the lint screen is located inside the dryer, and not on top like most other models.

I'll go Kenmore again next time around. I've had quite a few troubles with this washer and dryer. Enough so that I could've just bought an entirely new set from someone else with all the money I've spent on repairs.
 
Good tip! I'll add another one: replace your washer hoses with metal-braided burst-proof ones. An inexpensive "insurance policy". My brother came home to 3 inches of water in his basement once; I've been using the good hoses ever since.

Of course, you should regularly check the entire dryer vent route for buildup - it's hazardous and also increases the cost of drying a load.

I've also had good luck with Kenmore/Whirlpool appliances. Also easy to fix and find parts for.
 
Well, I did a good one this morning. The dryer wouldn't dry the clothes, so I pulled the heating element out. Broke that. Cussed a little to myself.

Found some more charred lint in the exhaust of the dryer, and used the vacuum cleaner to pull it out. There was a foreign object in there, which got sucked into the vacuum cleaner. Now it's broken.

Two broken appliances in the space of an hour. That's gotta be a record somewhere. Sheesh. :mad:
 
Good tips mentioned above. I remember a few dryer lint fires that took out several apartments.

The newer dryers are more efficient due to dampness sensing, but there are no green dryers due the large amount of electricity they consume.
 
K, thanks for bringing the awareness level up. Sounds dangerous, indeed.
I hate dryers with a passion, hug my clothesline every chance I get, and dread the day I may have to give it up...!

Did you check if they may have been a recall on the dryer, perhaps? I would bring the incident up with the manufacturer. as they may want to know about it. You did read the manual, right..?

The vac. cleaner my be just experiencing a jam, instead of a straight failure?
 
No recalls that I know of... The manual is ridiculously vague. Basically it says to check the vent and vent hose to see if it's clogged. If it is, clean it out. If that doesn't fix it, call a technician.

Turns out that it was a blown fuse. I'm in the process of putting the dryer back together and seeing if the magic smoke stays in the machine. Got Anthrax playing on last.fm through the xbox right now. Perfect music for this little repair job.
 
IT WORKS!

Cost: $8.66 for a new thermal fuse, and $10.79 for a multimeter. No magic smoke release.

Now, on to the vacuum cleaner that I broke.
 
Hm. That's interesting as we've just ordered a bunch of new appliances. Good tips.

BTW I've never heard of Kenmore but here Whirlpool is cheapest there is. But it's all in the branding really - I checked and Kenmores are mostly made by Panasonic, but also LG, Bosch, Whirlpool etc...I don't think there is much to select in a brand, they are all mixed up...you could buy the exact same machine labeled whatever happens to sell well in that area I understand, and it's sold under another brand somewhere else. All you can do is check the build yourself and also cost can be a good signal. Although, we checked out some super expensive dishwashers for instance that had *plastic* water connectors etc. just like the cheapest ones, and then again some much cheaper ones that were all stainless steel. You can never tell until you see for yourself.

I just try to buy whatever is made as close to home as I can find. These days it means mostly in Germany, LOL, Miele seems to be pretty much the only brand that still makes the stuff themselves in Germany :-) but we did manage to find some fridges eetc. still made right here. Don't think they're any better but at least the buck stays close to home and not the Asia region.
 
Kenmore is a store brand (Sears) that is made by Kenmore.

I spend quite a bit of time researching washers and dryers last year. Past brands that were once considered great have slipped in quality. Top load versus newer front loads also vary wildly within each manufacturer's line. We ended up going with a mid level LG, one of the new top dogs in front load washers.

We also have a clothes line for the ultimate energy saver!
 
Tig said:
"Fabulous Disaster" by Exodus would have been a good match.
:rollover

Click to expand...


That was a great album! Didn't it have the Lowrider cover? I still think their lowrider is the best one.
 
Don't worry, I'll bring it back on topic...

Vacuum cleaner is FIXED! I better go to bed now, 'cuz I think I used up all my good vibes for the day.
 
Tig said:
Yep, that's the one. Rateyourmusic.com is a good source to look up bands and albums, BTW. http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/exodus/fabulous_disaster/

See Eric, I can derail a thread, too!
Click to expand...

:rollover

On the subject of Kenmore, I seem to recall that Maytag was making them for Sears back when I bought mine. Bear in mind this is something close to 20 years ago. I hope I haven't jinxed them by talking about how long they've lasted...I cannot afford to replace those.
 
My washer and dryer are Gibson's. Seriously.

snob2.jpg
 
poodlesrule said:
nothing but the best for mr. Spud!

Kenmore: there are model number prefixes specific to the actual manufacturer, and that is posted in a few places online. From mowers to fridges.
Quite handy when tracting down spare parts and such.
Click to expand...

Yes, common parts also make for competitive pricing. For refrigerator water filters, ebay has saved us quite a bit.
That reminds me of a honey-do....
 
BTW washing machines in the americas seem very different to me than here very often. You never see the top-loading type here, except in very small washers and even those are built differently, the drum doesn't rotate round like a record but it's installed just like in front-loaders, only has a hatch that opens when the drum is in correct position only. I suppose you there have those types too, but we never see those top-loaders.

By far the most popular construction is that you have a front-loading washer below a similar-looking dryer, creating a so-called 'wash tower' that goes from floor to ceiling, and often accompanied by a heat drier closet right beside for more delicate clothes. Like this:

10524.jpg
 
Yes, the heat closets.
I see them in catalogs when I visit family in Europe, and always wanted to try building something like that, with maybe just a good size fan and outside exhaust. Would that be efficient enough?

My mother had a small Bosch washer like you describe (s. steel drum with "side" door), and that thing had a small capacity but was a great job and quiet!. I was counting on inheriting it and use it there (France) some day, but someone screwed with it.... bummer.
 
I reckon they're like 100-140F warm inside, could be more...when you pull out a piece of clothing, it's usually so hot you can't wear it in a few seconds. They do have a fan, a very slowly rotating one though, and an exhaust pipe to outside of the house or nearest vent.

I just remembered those really old type vibrating washers too...we had one at the cottage still some 10 years ago. They have zero moving parts basically, and as such last forever almost. They were just sort of maybe 16" wide tubes for water, and at the bottom was this odd-shaped plate...it kinda worked like a ultrasonic washer...I suppose the bottom plate vibrated, maybe with a magnet like a speaker cone...but they made next to no sound, and if you looked into it, the water in them kinda trembled funnily...but they did also clean clothes quite OK. I think they just took quite a while...and they didn't heat the water either. Weird machines...
 

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