Maytag HOH lint problems

[mandorob]

Hi everyone, I have a DE 606 that I completely rebuilt and I really like it however 75% of the time the lint gets past the filter in the back of the drum and proceeds to clog my outside screen on the vent. I have been living with this by just taking a toothbrush and cleaning the vent screen after every couple of loads. It's now 20 degrees out and snow is on the way so this solution is becoming impractical. All the pieces involved seem to be in good order, no holes in the screen, no warping of the outer cover. There are only a few parts and I can see no problem after repeated dissassembly. One person said that his dryer did this when the loads were small, which would perhaps mean the clothes inside were actually holding the screen in place. My spring seem to hold the cover on fine and when I pull it off to clean it is always on tight. I'm baffled over such a seemingly simple problem. Any suggestions would be apreciated. I've included pics of all the pieces. thanks, Rob

 

[danemodsandy]

Is Your....

Lint screen one of the original, metal-screen units, or is it one of the later, polyester-screen units? It's hard to tell from the photo.

The metal-screen units allow more lint to pass through than is considered acceptable by today's standards. If you have one, you should consider getting a polyester-screen replacement, which has a much finer mesh and traps much more of the lint.

 

[mandorob]

Thanks,
This is the polyster screen, I have considered trying to find a new one but this one seems perfect.

 

[danemodsandy]

I Think....

....I might try another one just to see if it has any effect.

 

[combo52]

Lint Clogging Outside? Lint Screen

Hi Rob, you should not have a lint screen on any dryer vent on the outside, dryers are not designed for screens because they clog too quickly and cause problems, and this is especially important with classic dryers like your MT HOH dryer as there are no safety Thermal Fuses on these dryers and they were know to have more trouble with dryer fires than most brands back in the day.

Post a picture of the screen you are using and I can advise if you like.

 

[mandorob]

Perhaps lint screen is the wrong term, it is 1/4" mesh to prevent animals from going in. Just the standard dryer vent. The wet lint clogs this as most of it is going past the dryers filter. If you are sugesting I remove this screen, I can certainly do that and it will sort of solve my problem but not really because there should not be significant lint out there anyway if the filter were catching it. I'd rather not have small rodents come to live in my nice warm dryer during the winter months.

An update- just came back from my favorite old school appliance store and instead of coming back with a new screen the guy went in back and dug me up an old metal one in perfect shape. He agreed with me that there would be no point in buying a new filter. The old metal one definetly has a courser mesh, but overall it is much sturdier and doesn't flex at all, so it's worth a try. I've got it installed and a load is in the washer now so I'll report back with the result of this switch soon, thanks for all replies,
Rob

 

[mandorob]

update

I switched out the lint filter with the older metal style and it seems to work tons better. Perhaps my newer plastic one was just too floppy, the metal one is very stiff and is catching tons of lint. Now if only I can find some lighted control panels for my pair!
Thanks to everyone for their input, Rob

 

[tomturbomatic]

I don't understand what you mean by the lint screen flexing. It is mounted in front of the white circular supports on the front of the blower housing and is held in place by the disc with the finger and thumb holes and square grid that goes in front of it. Maytag dryers, with the lint screen so close to the blower, do suck more lint through the lint screen than many others and that is just the nature of the beast, so to speak. I discovered this when I attempted to use my DE806 unvented inside with the exhaust going into nylon stockings. Suffice it to say, it was only suitable for loads of Permanent Press shirts, since they shed almost no lint during drying.

The suction through the lint screen is so strong that single items can be sucked against the grid covering the screen during drying. When working at Rich's, a lady came in with a plush nylon bath rug with a nice pattern of squares sort of crushed into the pile. She pulled it out of the bag and showed it to me. I looked from the rug to her and said, "You have a Maytag dryer." She looked surprised so I continued that she dried it by itself and it got sucked against the filter and, with no other items in the load to knock it free, it dried there. We made an even exchange for another one and I sent her home with instructions not to dry it alone. I got the manager to do a mark down on it and bought it. Once washed in warm water and safely dried in my Philco Duomatic, the pile was restored to its original appearance. I used it for years.

 

[mandorob]

Flexing?

I don't know it does seem almost impossible for the lint filter to flex given the support from behind from the plastic spider thing. All I know is my original newer plastic lint filter is very flexible and the older style metal one is almost impossible to flex. There are no holes or other defects in the plastic one and yet it lets tons of lint through while the old metal one catches tons of lint. I don't really understand how that can be happening but it is. Like someone replied above the older metal one does have a signifantly larger holes in its screen as well, perhaps that is helping my situation rather than hurting, I don't know.

 

[beekeyknee]

I have noticed my 806 screen not catching as much lint as my 808 one did. This seems strange. I have a source for an old metal grid filter too. I might try it.

I do have a question though. Is the lint screen supposed to go over the plastic flanges in the middle of the screen cover by the spring or should it just be placed on the central shaft and the cover pushed over it?[this post was last edited: 11/23/2014-17:35]

 

[whirlcool]

You may want to change that mesh out at the dryer exhaust vent for a vent that has a flapper door on it. I don't think any animals would run inside the dryer ducting when the dryer is running.

 

[beekeyknee]

Allen,

His exhaust vent may have a flap underneath the cage. I haven't examined them closely at the store because I wasn't in the market for one. I have had friends that have had the problem with birds getting under that flap and building nests in the dryer vent. Mostly starlings and English sparrows; non-indigenous species to this country that build those trashy nests in stupid places.

 

[mandorob]

A couple of good points,

I forgot to mention my vent on the outside had a flap and mesh,I removed the mesh.You are right, it's doubtful anything would crawl or creep into a vent with the dryer running.

I believe the filter goes over the plastic flange by the spring and not on the metal shaft first. This enables the cover and filter screen to be removed together, correct me if I am wrong though.

 

[beekeyknee]

Rob,

Thanks. That's the way I've been doing it. There's nothing in the 806 dryer manual about it.

B.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Birds don't get into the vents while the dryer is operating. Over time, lint gets stuck in the hinge and around the vent pipe opening that prevents the flapper from closing tightly. Birds see a sheltering cover and lift the flap with their beaks to find a nice tube for a nest. That is how they make nests in dryer vents.