CLEAN YOUR DRYERS OUT!!!!

[dustin92]

Today I had a scare with our dryer. It is a Frigidaire gallery electric dryer. I just had this strange feeling that I HAD to clean out the dryer, I had a load waiting in the washer, but did it anyway, so I started blowing the front air duct out with the hose attached to my Kirby G3 and aimed the hose away to dig some lint loose, and the air blew into the back where the heating element is and BLACK chunks of lint started flying out.... so I thouroughly cleaned out the ENTIRE inner workings of the dryer and THANKED GOD that I didnt start that load of clothes! I clean the front out about once a month but have never cleaned the back and we have had the dryer about 6 months. If you get a strong urge to clean out the dryer, DONT IGNORE IT, just do it!

 

[gusherb]

Did you

Take the front panel off the dryer? If not then there's probably plenty of lint where that came from.
Only dryers I don't find alot of lint build up in, even if they've never been cleaned are the Whirlpools with the top access lint filter.

 

[dustin92]

no, how do I take the front panel off? it is a frigidaire gallery with the window in the door.

 

[peterh770]

If there isn't enough "make up" air where the dryer is, there tends to be more lint build up.

 

[imperial70]

What's the best way to clean out a whirlpool dryer with the top mounted lint filter? I have stuc a flexible hose down where the filter goes and pulled out lots of lint that way. I seem to have trouble getting the Galvanized metal ductwork away from the dryer to look in there. I had galvanized metal put in about 13 years ago. I thought that was the best way to avoid fire in the duct.

I clean the front out and there never is much in there, just some dust now and again.

I'm really afraid of a dryer fire. And I love this 20 plus year old whirlpool dryer.

 

[frigilux]

If you look around various sites for complaints about Frigidaire appliances, complaints about fires are second only to those about clothes snagging on the edge of the lint filter housing.

The filter on my 2002 Frigidaire dryer was far too small, and it was constantly "overfilled". On some big loads, I'd empty the lint filter halfway through the cycle, then again at the end---and it would be full both times. It also had a rather large mesh--more like a window screen than a fine filter mesh.

I have a little cage on the dryer vent outside the house and it would be filled with lint every month. Since I've gotten a brand new Frigidaire dryer ( a 7.0 cubic foot drum, with a much larger filter and a super-fine mesh), I've seen no lint buildup out there at all.

I agree that anyone with a Frigidaire dryer should clean it out regularly. I never cleaned mine and was lucky not to have a fire.

 

[whirlcool]

The best way to clean a Whirlpool dryer is to take the exterior covers off and remove the panel over the heating element and vacuum everything. We have a 1993 WP dryer and the user manual states that this service should be done every three years.

Two days ago someone lost their entire house due to a dryer fire that got out of control here in Houston.

 

[weed30]

Thanks

I'm glad this was posted. I just moved and the house came with a Whirlpool gas dryer - model LG5801XK. Not sure of its age, but from the pictures I think mid 90's. I'll be cleaning it out this weekend.

 

[dustin92]

ours is a frgidaire...

its a frigidaire gallery (with the window in the door) and I am kind of afraid to use it after hearing about them catching on fire. I want to go back to a whirlpool like we had before! it never snagged clothes on the lint filter and never caught on fire! but my mom says no. maybe ill just get one used and bring it home....

 

[gusherb]

That's a good idea Dustin. Whirlpool dryers seem to be the best at avoiding lint build up within themselves, and therefore least fire prone.
Every front-lint-filter dryer I've taken apart always has a good layer of lint in the bottom. Some having been so bad that the lint around the burner was darkened... I know I need to take apart our 4 yr old Maytag (Samsung) Neptune dryer and clean it out.

 

[dustin92]

welll,

here we are a couple weeks later and I just cleaned the front duct out again, totally coated, and cleaned the bottom of the machine and got about a cup of lint. still looking for a whirlpool/kenmore dryer and cant find an electric one, only gas. and I REFUSE to use a gas dryer.

 

[autowasherfreak]

The lower panel has two screws that you remove and then the panel comes off. I use one of those flexible brushes and a vacuum cleaner to clean where the lint filter goes once or twice a month and take the front panel off every other month to see if cleaning is needed.

 

[joe_in_philly]

Why don't you like gas dryers, Dustin?

 

[dustin92]

I really dont know why I dont like gas dryers, they just seem dangerous. we had a gas dryer for about 3 months and it was noisy (you could hear the flame inside the burner and when the burner clicked on and off) and it didnt really dry any faster than the electric dryer it replaced. The gas one was a Roper (whirlpool) and the electric one it replaced was a Whirlpool. I am still looking locally for a nice used whirlpool made electric dryer, and the frigidaire has been cleaned out twice since I started this thread!

 

[joe_in_philly]

Although I grew up using electric dryers, I now have a gas dryer. It does make clicking noises when it turns the lighter on, the gas ignites, and the gas turns off. But I actually like that since I know more about what the dryer is doing. If the gas cycles off faster, before the set temp is reached, I know that the airflow through the dryer is reduced and it is time to clean the air duct.

Also, if I want to fluff and de-wrinkle a load of dry clothes, the moisture in the gas exhaust condenses in the cold dryer for the first couple of minutes and that seems to get out wrinkles w/o having to add any water to the load.

 

[dustin92]

ours didnt just click, it sounded like a jet engine about to take off!

 

[sudsmaster]

The Frigidaire Gallery dryers are based on the older WCI design, which was shared by some GE models. In any case, these dryers have anemic blowers. I found out, luckily without any mishap, when I replaced a sluggish WCI dryer with a new Maytag Neptune dryer. The first thing the Neptune dryer did was to blow a huge clump of lint out the exit of the duct work. This helped to explain why the WCI was taking so long to dry things and why the top of the cabinet was getting warmer to the touch than it probably should have been. It was a couple of years after I bought the house and I'd never cleared out the ductwork. The previous dryer was part of a 70's GE top loader set, and the dryer design was nearly identical to the WCI (same filter, interchangeable).

After that, of course, I ran a proper dryer vent brush the length of the ductwork, and have kept a close eye on the position of the exit louvers every time I run the dryer. They are horizontal with good flow, which shows to me that the ductwork is in relatively lint-free unclogged condition.

In the planning is a canted "T" connection in the ductwork under the floor, to make cleaning out the ductwork easier than it is now.

Thanks for the reminder.

 

[yogitunes]

I take out the drum on my Frigidaire, not so much for the electric one, but the gas one builds up one hell of a lint pile behind the holes in the drum.....a fire waiting to happen...for the amount of laundry I do, I have to clean these once every other month...especially the machines with the front lint filter.....the rear filters don't build up so fast, maybe once every six months to a year

I also like the louvered vents, a built in "indicator" of cleaning needed....

 

[bobbyderegis]

My 2 cents

My Frigidaire (2006) has a rubber seal over the joint between the fan housing and the exhaust tube. It is like a huge rubber band. Needless to say, the heat dried up the rubber, the band fell apart, and lint and air were pouring into the inside of the dryer. I was noticing lint all around the machines. I took the front panel off, found the problem, and replaced the band with aluminum duct seal tape. Not a speck of lint since....
Bobby in Boston