Whirlpool dryer taking a long time to dry clothes

[ryner1988]

My Whirlpool 29-inch dryer, model number WED5300VW0, is taking what would seem to be a long time to dry laundry. Mixed loads used to take about 45 minutes whereas towels would take roughly an hour. Over the past couple weeks, those times have increased to approx. 70 minutes and 90 minutes, respectively.

I suppose it could be a vent blockage although I doubt it. I replaced the vent hose this past summer and maintenance has been around to check the outside vent as well. Also, I can smell my laundry detergent and feel the warm air blowing down from the second floor where the exit point is when I go outside to check.

When I check the dryer mid-cycle, it is warm on the inside but I wouldn't say hot. I usually keep the heat on medium/casual and that used to get what I would consider hot but not overly so. I'll add that the left side grill at the back of the drum is very hot to the touch although the grill on the right is not but I read somewhere that this is normal? Not sure about that.

I've also read that heating elements either work or they don't, there's no in between. Again, I'm unsure how true this is.

I have a friend whose timer went out on her 29-inch Whirlpool from roughly the same time period, although in her case heat on auto dry was intermittent and I don't think that's what's happening with me. Heat feels constant but not as strong as it should be. Going back to the idea of a vent blockage that's another reason why I don't think it's that--I thought a dryer would feel extremely hot to the touch on the cabinet and mine does not.

What do you guys think could be going on? Especially asking those of you who seem to know Whirlpool products well (Glenn/DADoES, Melvin/repairguy, John/combo52, for example).

Ryne

 

[repairguy]

Vent problem

 

[ryner1988]

Reply #1

Melvin, I thought that issue results in an extremely hot but humid dryer but that's not what I'm experiencing. Is that not always the case?

I dealt with a similar issue a while ago as some may remember and maintenance told me it was the vent and that it was fixed. Of course, it's possible they did a half-a** job which is typical around here.

 

[DADoES]

 
Depends on details, how much obstruction, length of the run, etc.

The heater box is the grill at the left in the drum.  The blower is at the bottom of the filter chute grill at the right.  The blower pulls air into the drum through the heater box, through the filter and blows it out the exhaust.  The heat input grill gets HOT via the 5,400 watt element in there, even if airflow is impaired.  The filter grill doesn't get hotter than the target drying temperature (maybe a few degrees), the drying temp thermostat is on the blower housing to which the exhaust duct connects at back of the dryer.

Enough obstruction will reduce airflow to the point that the element cycles on its high-limit/overheat protection thermostat located on the heater box which further increases drying time, along with lack of airflow to move moisture out of the drum.

Does each apartment in your building have a separate dryer exhaust?  Airflow from the exhaust hood should have some force, not a gentle waft.

 

[philcobendixduo]

Other possible causes......

......are a burned out element (there are usually 2) or a bad thermostat.

I had this same issue long ago with a previous dryer and I believe the cause was a burned out element.

 

[ryner1988]

Reply #3

Glenn, I'm not sure about whether I share a dryer exhaust with anyone else but my guess would be that I do. To give you an idea of how the ductwork is set up, the laundry closet is in the hallway close to the back door. If you are facing the laundry closet, you would turn right and walk about six steps to the back door. The exhaust hood is to the right of the door on the building wall as you walk outside, but high up. I am on the first floor, so from what I can tell, the duct behind the dryer goes straight up, then makes a 90-degree turn to the right, goes straight for about six walking steps, then another right turn to exit out the second floor wall. This leads me to believe I probably at least share with the people who live directly above me.

 

[ryner1988]

Reply #4

Yeah I was wondering if it might be something internal with the dryer rather than the exhaust. I suppose I'll have maintenace check the exhaust again, and if that checks out fine I'll look into getting the dryer serviced.

 

[repairguy]

Most dryer ducts are not shared and it doesn’t have to be fully blocked to cause problems. At that point safeties fail and there will be no heat at all.

 

[DADoES]

 
There's one element on your dryer.  The single coil is wrapped around both sides of the plate.

 

[maytag85]

Either a vent problem, internal lint buildup in the lint screen plenum, or weak high limit thermostat(s).

 

[henene4]

Since these are single power heating elements, that's certainly working.

You didn't mention which 29" dryer you have. If it uses thermostatic auto dry, one would have to think about the cycling thermostat being wonky. But that would lead to underdried clothing, so not that either.

That leaves a vent blockage (partial, most likely) and the self-resetting high limit thermostat being the issue.

Since these go hand in hand often, getting the vent properly cleaned forst should be the course of action.
Replacing the high limit thermostat is easy, but if the vent stays blocked (even partially), it could be a matter of months before the new one wears out as well. Those safety thermostats are intentionally not designed for continuous switching so such persistent problems lead to a totally not functioning dryer sooner or later. Basically, a "fail safe" situation.

If you do a thermostat swap yourself, replacing both the safety thermostats at once is recommended.
Cleaning out the dryer, blower and filter housing is just cheap maintenance at that point. Checking the element for dust build up os also not a bad idea.
If you want to go all the way, depending on your specific model and parts pricing, replacing the cycling thermostat would be the last step to basically completely overhauling the heat side of the dryer.

 

[retro-man]

Can you take the dryer vent off of the machine and dry a load this way. You will be able to determine whether it is a vent problem or a mechanical one

Jon

 

[combo52]

Dryer taking longer than usual to dry

Hi Ryne , you’ve been through this before. Reply number 11 is the first step you take when a dryer is slow. Try drying a few loads with the vent disconnected. You can quickly determine whether it’s a venting problem or a dryer problem.

This dryer does have a single heating element. It is possible, the element could have failed and shorted to ground in which case it would produce very little heat, but still produce heat. This does happen occasionally

It’s also possible the heat contact is becoming intermittent, and there are lots of other potential causes.

But disconnect the vent and dry a few loads. That’s the only way to really determine what’s going on without doing a whole lot of chasing different scenarios.

John

 

[ryner1988]

Reply #12

Hi John, yes I've been through this before which is why it's frustrating. It got better for a while and now the problem is back. I didn't think it would be a vent issue with it happening again so soon, but if maintenance did a poor job of cleaning it, it could be.

I'll be laundering towels probably mid-week or so, so I'll report back once I've dried that load with the vent disconnected, as you suggested. I did that when this was happening before and it sure did heat up my house and made my laundry area really wet, but I understand it's the simplest diagnostic measure, so I'll try it.

 

[ryner1988]

Reply #10

Henrick, my dryer is a sensor dry model, not thermostatic auto dry. There are two metal bars at the back of the drum.

 

[DADoES]

 
The model number is referenced in the first sentence of the OP.

 

[henene4]

I'm blind sometimes to the most obvious things, thanks Glenn!

 

[henene4]

Parts for these dryers are surprisingly cheap for the most part, impressingly.

A set of the heater safety stat and fuse isn't even 35$, the blower housing thermal fuse isn't even 20$ and a belt/roller kit is about the same as the safety stat kit.

Even the roller shafts are apparently replaceable for a very reasonable price.
Only the main operating thermostat is a bit more pricey at about 60$, about the same as a heater.
Even the main motor isn't even 100$!

 

[mark_wpduet]

If it IS the vent run I feel your pain. This is what my vent run looks like..
Picture a single story house with vaulted ceilings, a steep roof pitch.. Laundry kind of the center of the house..I guestimate my entire run to be about 18 to 20 feet. Possibly slightly more or less. It didn't even take six months for mine to clog (not fully clog) but enough to notice increase in dry times slowly... I have a workaround now which keeps the entire run clean and clothes dry fast. Hopefully there isn't anything wrong with your dryer. I also have a WP 29 inch dryer bought in 2019