Gas Dryers

[supersurgilator]

Having grown up with electric dryers, I have a question for those of you with gas. Do they leave that hotel smell on your clothes? I can't get it from an electric dryer, however if I use a gas one at the laundromat, I am able to replicate the smell. I didn't know if it was something to do with the commercial size dryer, or if it was something to do with the gas and a home gas dryer would make the same smell.

 

[thomasortega]

You mean the lovely "burnt" fabric softener smell?

Yep.

Just set the dryer temperature control between "cremate" and "incinerate".

 

[twintubdexter]

<span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;">Frigidaire electric dryers (as well as several other brands) used to give your clothes that burnt smell. They also turned white sheets pastel yellow.</span>

 

[maytag85]

Since my Maytag DG306 (DG606) only outputs 18,000 btus it doesn’t get very hot and takes longer to dry, but it definitely is much more gentler on my clothes compared to dryers with a 22,000 btu output.

Another thing too is the more clothes you put in the DG306 the hotter it gets, and the less clothes the less hot it gets.

 

[askolover]

My laundry doesn't smell like anything but clean. I know that smell though. I smell it when I take something to the laundromat and use those big dryers that cremate the clothes, but my GE nor Frigidaire do it.

 

[dustin92]

Some gas dryers maybe, but our Samsung doesn't get all that hot, even on high. It's pretty tame but dries well. I prefer to dry at lower temperatures, so I usually use the normal auto dry cycle, which runs on Medium heat. GE and Frigidaire electric dryers run dangerously hot if that's what you're looking for!

 

[justjunque]

When we bought our house, about ten years ago, it came with a Whirlpool gas dryer.
Neither my wife nor I had any previous experience with them, and were both a little apprehensive about it at first.
However, it's been trouble-free so far, and I don't notice any difference from using an electric dryer.
Of course, I dry almost everything on the low heat setting, whether using electric or gas.

Barry

 

[nmassman44]

I find that the Electrolux dryer that I have does not turn whites that tell tale yellowish hue like the Frigidaire dryer that I had before did. The burner is a robust 20k btus and burns cleanly. The dryer does not get hot like the previous dryer and is quite fast drying a load of laundry. Gas dryers have come a long ways. And laundry comes out fresh and smells amazing like an electric dryer.

 

[twintubdexter]

<span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;">I worked on a lot of used dryers when I was young. In most cases, the cycling thermostat (therm-o-disc) which had the temperature printed on it was higher for an electric dryer than it's gas counterpart. I can certainly understand why a laundromat would have gas dryers that got as hot as safely possible. Most of the ones I've seen have a lot more washers than dryers. The idea is to get people in and out as fast as possible. Who wants to wait with a load of wet clothes for an available dryer? It's not as thought you're waiting in the VIP lounge at the airport with someone asking if you'd like a cocktail and an hor d'oeuvre (I had to look up the spelling).</span>

 

[maytagbear]

I have always and only

used/owned gas dryers, and I have never experienced fabric yellowing or unpleasant odors........Owned Newton Maytags, used gas Whirlpools, GEs, and now Speed Queen gas dryers.

However, even though I like gas dryers and they are cheaper to run in my area, IF I have the opportunity to own a washer and dryer again, for various reasons, it will be an electric.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[gusherb]

I haven’t had any issues with my SQ gas dryer, which as we all know is infamous for incinerating clothes. The highest setting isn’t any hotter than the Samsungtag it replaced, and the medium setting is just a little cooler than it. It might help that I set the timer to run it just long enough that everything’s dry vs using the sensor dry function that always over dries things. The Eco Dry function is also handy as it reduces the heat by 10% (IIRC) after setpoint is initially reached, great idea IMO because that’s when scorching starts occurring anyway.

 

[thomasortega]

I love my Speed Queen Ultramate dryer...

It has 5 temperatures (Self-clean, incinerate, cremate, roast and pretend it's drying)

I love to simply skip the spin dryer and toss a giant load of towels spun in the ultra mate washer or the Marathon washer or the Kenmore Catalyst and it dries in a heartbeat.

No yellowing ever, but I've already incinerated and shrunk a synthetic king size duvet that turned into a doormat using the delicate (sic) temperature.

I'm looking forward to have the Marathon dryer hooked up, so I can incinerate two loads simultaneously.

Now truth be said.... Except for the duvet that turned into a doormat, I never had any issues with the SQ dryers. No yellowing, no shrinking... I just love that dryer and the way it can dry much faster.

And for delicate items, I have the magic chef, a Niagara and the 110v Skinny mini dryers, being Niagara my favorite because it's really gentle.

 

[qsd-dan]

I own 11 dryers. 2 are gas and the other 9 are electric. The gas dryers are the main workhorses but I like to play with the electrics (particularly the HOH's) when I have the time to enjoy them.

Electric and gas dryers definitely have their own unique scent. I wouldn't say gas has an off putting or obnoxious scent, but it's different from electric models.

The only time I had issues with a gas dryer was about 10 years when I took my pillows to the laundromat and washed them in a large 1990s Speed Queen front loading washer that filled almost halfway with water. I usually bring a large 50 gallon trash bag and take them home to dry in my own fleet but decided to just use the dryer there. Big mistake. The burner on that particular dryer must have had issues 'cause those pillows absolutely reeked of gas. I tried washing them 2 more times but I could get the stench out. That got me thinking about stuffing my nose in a pillow 8 hours every day 365 days a year and health issues around that so pillows are now designated to the electric dryers only. Everything else can either go in a gas dryer or whatever I feel like using at the time.

Can't say I had issues with yellowing of white/lighter fabrics using a gas dryer. My main issues with yellowing was the use of chlorine bleach. When I switched to a high quality oxygen bleach with 160F water temps and 3 hour soaking periods, that problem permanently resolved itself.

 

[maytag85]

I did notice when I had my Maytag DG810 stream of heat dryer in service awhile back it didn’t give off a awful or horrible smell, but it gave off that hot heated gas smell if that makes sense, and it’s not a horrible smell but it’s different from electric dryers. I suspect the BTU heat output might have something to deal with it since my DG306 doesn’t really give off a hot heated smell.

 

[easyspindry]

I have been in my house . . .

. . . 47 years and have had nothing but gas dryers. Never a problem. Never an odor. AND no static electricity.

When I moved here, there was a Whirlpool dryer. Good machine. Worked fine. But when I decided to get a matching pair, the Whirlpool was given away.

Presently I have a top-load Fisher & Paykel gas dryer which is 12 years old and works perfectly. I am sold on gas dryers. No odors, no scorching, just good, clean fast drying.

Obviously, I am very pleased with gas fired clothes dryers.

Jerry Gay

 

[combo52]

Gas dryers And Smells In The Dry Clothing

We get calls at least monthly about terrible smells in clothing that has been dried in clothes dryers [ more often in gas dryers ]

 

The environment the dryer is located in is almost always the cause, if you have just painted inside the home, or done heavy carpet cleaning etc when the odors from such projects get drawn into the dryers airstream the smell changes often not for the better, you often get th same smell when you turn on the oven or even light a burner on the stove with the back ground odor present in the house.

 

Dryers that are located in old musty damp basements are a major reason that people find clothing dried outdoors to smell fresher. When we built a screened-in-porch over 20 years ago I installed a gas dryer out there and could not believe how fresh the dry clothing smelled compared to the clothing that came out of the same type of gas dryer that was installed in a musty corner of the basement.

 

I have never seen any difference in any modern gas dryer [ after about 1960 ] in smells or burner efficiency, it certainly would not make any difference whether the burner was 18,000 or 22,000 BTUs for example.

 

John L.

 

[askolover]

John's right about the background odors....when I paint my kitchen cabinets or trim work I always use oil paint and that's the only time I can smell any difference in the dried.  Likewise when I had a gas range with pilot lights  I could smell diesel or kerosene fumes.

 

[addle]

natural gas produces 1.25 gallons of water per 100k BTUs

If it is a gas vs electric issue maybe "Burning natural gas produces 1.25 gallons of water per 100,000 BTUH in a typical construction heater (less than 100% efficiency). "

https://inspectapedia.com/hazmat/Gas_Combustion_Products.php

I think gas dryers vent into the drum with the clothes in it. I noticed some electrics now offer a water vapor option.

Another guess, laundromats have so many different customers you are picking up on the scent of detergents used by the previous customers.

 

[rp2813]

Our '97 Amanaqueen was gas.  I didn't know back then that SQ's system wasn't up to par for auto-drying.  All too often, the dryer exhaust smelled like the contents were being pressed with a super hot iron.   The gas Duet that replaced it was far kinder to textiles, and never made the contents smell weird.

 

My mom's dreadful '67 Signature pair was another story.  Never mind the lemon of a washer; the gas dryer in later years began to emit a smell like car exhaust.  I didn't feel safe in the house when it was operating.