Whirlpool dryer taking a long time to dry clothes

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ryner1988

ryner1988

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Mar 3, 2015
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Location
Indianapolis
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
 
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.
 
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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
 
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.
 
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$, about the same as a heater.
Even the main motor isn't even 100$!
 
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

mark_wpduet-2023111313152005300_1.jpg
 
“Parts for these dryers are surprisingly for the most part, impressingly”

That’s why the Whirlpool 29” top filter dryers are still quite popular. If something goes wrong, can be easily fixed at a reasonable cost. Even the 24” compact and portable dryers use the same drive motor, tensioner, rollers etc as the full sized 29” models. Only things that are different is the heating element and cut out temperature of the high limit thermostat.

May not be as efficient as some heat pump models, but if Whirlpool had this particular design since 1966 (yes, I know there’s been variations over the years), why change it? As long as they are serviced once a year (mainly cleaning lint that’s accumulated in the lint filter plenum), will never have problems and will for sure extend the life of the heating element and thermostats.

A Whirlpool 29” dryer is the equivalent of a Ford 300 inline 6 or a 289/302 small block, may not be the most efficient in the world, but can run for a long, long time when taken care of.
 
Reply #19

Sean, I think you may have explained this to me before, but it is easy to access the lint filter plenum to check that? If so, could you walk me through how to do it?
 
Reply #21

1. Remove screws on the very top where the lint screen slides down
2. Remove screws that hold the rear panel in place
3. Remove screws on the bottom of the lint screen plenum

Once you remove the plenum, you can either vacuum the lint out or take it to the outside and spray it off.
 
My workaround is (and I've done this at least 10 yrs at this point.) My washer and dryer are not directly beside each other (meaning I can easily squeeze through to the back of my dryer.) The dryer is a not pushed up tight against the back of the wall either. so if I get behind the dryer it's pretty easy for me to do what I need to do...Sort of tight back there but not too tight.

Years ago, I came across a post something complaining of dryer lint. I think it was garden web laundry forum. A lady had said she and her husband lived in a condo and they had to deal with their vent run constantly clogging with dryer lint. Her husband got this idea to use a 1 gallon pain strainer (picture lining the paint strainer into the piece that connects the back of the dryer into the wall sort of like you would line a trash bag into a trash can) About every 4 loads, I get back there, pull it from the back of the dryer, take the strainer out, vacuum the lint off, put it back..It basically catches all the lint that escapes the dryer keeping it from going into the vent run or roof cap

I have the clamp just setting just right to push on/take off the back of the dryer.. It's snug enough not to come off on its own but not overly snug to where I can't get it back on... Takes me about 5 min's to clean and put it back.. It has kept the entire run lint free for ten or so years...I never have an issue with clothes drying since doing this. I could probably go more than 4 loads but I just get used to doing it around 4 loads. Since I'm the only one who does laundry I don't worry about the dryer getting ran and it not being cleaned.

When the lady first told me this is what she and her husband do.. My first thought was a fire hazard...but as long as you keep it clean, it's fine. Not so much as any sign of overheating. In fact, it's probably lessens the fire hazard since it keeps the run clean.. A clogged vent run IS a fire hazard. I remember thinking it might cause the dryer to overhead or it would block some airflow or something still causing the dryer to take longer.. but it does NOT. My clothes dry as fast as my grandma's dryer that was connected to an outside wall venting directly out.

This wouldn't be doable for most laundry situations though. Most people have their washer/dryer touching each other and pushed back up against the wall. (see picture)

I'm forever grateful to the nice lady who told me this. It has saved me such a headache of having something else to worry about doing.

mark_wpduet-2023111401530102932_1.jpg
 
Reply #23

Hey Mark, that's kind of genious actually. So to make sure I understand correctly, you put the paint strainer in the end of the vent hose that would usually connect to the wall but leave it disconnected, and attach to the other end of the hose to the dryer via a clamp as usual? Does your laundry area get really hot and humid doing this?

A note about clamps: have you ever tried a constant tension clamp? You just squeeze them to take them off the hose and release them and when you release them they spring back and hold the vent hose in place. Easier than a screw-type clamp IMO because you can take them on and off whenever and they're always the same amount of tension, thus constant tension. That might be a good thing for you since you're always having to take the vent off.

What I don't understand is why my vent run exits where it does, since the dryer is on an outside wall. Why, then, doesn't it just run straight out from the back of the dryer? I'm scratching my head about that design decision.
 
No No... the dryer air gets exhausted outside through the roof; just the paint strainer catches any lint that escapes the dryer...see picture. I leave the tube connected to the wall (I never touch that part) the only part I touch is I pull the tube from back of dryer, take strainer out, clean it, put back in, pop tube back on back of dryer...there's never even a trace of lint even in the tube itself

Yep I know about those clamps...just haven't thought about getting any because this setup is so easy for me (so far)

mark_wpduet-2023111412120902807_1.jpg
 
Reply #26

Mark, thanks for the clarification, I just wasn't understanding because I'm blind so can't interact with pictures. Sorry about that, I just figured that was common knowledge by now among people who are on here regularly.

Sounds like my vent setup is similar to yours and it would appear maintenace is lousy about keeping it clean. Come to think of it though, I'm not really sure about whose responsibility that is, management has never been clear about that. They only provide the connections, it's up to us to bring our own machines if we so desire.
 

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