The dryer turn knob seems to be written backwards.
As you turnt he wheel the starting points are:
more dry
then as you turn further
normal dry
then as you turn further
less dry
these are the main 3 starting positions, as the dryer runs the know turns towards the less dry position then past it till it stops.
It would seem that if the cloths are more dry then normal comming out of the washer you should set it to “more dry” but that is the longest run time, and if your washer spin cycle didn’t get all the water out it should it would seem that you should set it to “less dry” (because the cloths are less dry then normal) but that is the shortest time.
Since my wife does the laundry and she usually just sets it at normal, she couldn’t help me with this. perhaps using more dry causes it to run hotter or something.
I might assume that more dry really means “dry more” meanign the dryer has to remove more water - but I just can’t understand why such a confusing way of saying dry more would make it through 3 generations of kenmore washers (and I assume others)
Depending on model, the dryer will use either a temperature sensor or moisture sensor to determine when the clothes are dry. When the laundry is wet, the timer knob stays put, or rotates very slowly. When the load starts to dry, the sensors pick up on this, and relay a signal to the timer. The timer then begins to advance, until it eventually reaches zero.
When you set the timer to “More Dry”, it has further to turn until it reaches zero, which in turn makes the drying cycle longer. Longer dry time = drier clothes. The opposite is true for the “Less Dry” setting.
I was about to ask this question but fortunately searched the archives first. But what I still don’t get is - isn’t “dry” an absolute? Something is either dry or it’s not. There’s varying degrees of wet, sure, from damp to soaked, but really only one state of being dry, right?
And who puts clothes in the dryer NOT wanting them to come out dry? (“Yes, I think I’ll wear a damp shirt today.”)
Ski: No, “dry” is not an absolute. There’s a whole gradation between “wet” and “dry”.
Why You Would Want To Set The Dryer On Less Dry:
It has to do with what kind of fabric you’re dealing with. Some fabrics, like rayon and acrylics, need only a minimum amount of time in a dryer, because if they get too warm for too long, they shrink or melt. So you don’t leave a rayon dress in the dryer until it’s actually “bone dry” the way you leave a load of PermaPress cotton/polyester shirts in the dryer until they’re “bone dry”. A rayon dress that comes out of the dryer slightly less than “bone dry” is actually desirable, but it doesn’t necessarily feel “wet”.
A dryer has two main controls: The time selector and the temperature selector. You determine the temperature by fabric type: synthetics should never be dried at a high temperature, go ahead and crank it up for cotton, etc.
The time selector, on better dryers, also has a setting for the moisture detector. This senses the amount of water vapor being released from the dryer load (y’know, clothes). A very small load will release very little vapor even when it’s wet, so you set it to “more dry,” to make sure all of the water gets out. Jeans and other heavy fabrics release their water very slowly, so they also need to be set to “more dry.” Light fabrics release their water very quickly; there’s no need to dry them as long, and they may be damaged if they spend too much time in the dryer. Also, removing shirts from the dryer while they’re just a tiny bit damp makes them easier to iron (they even hang out with fewer wrinkles).
Also, you’ll find that if you have a mixed load (you dumped in your entire wardrobe of black clothes: jeans, khakis, shirts, etc.) the lighter items will be dry when the jeans are still damp. So set it to “less dry,” pull out the shirts for ironing or hanging, then set it to “normal” and finish off the khakis, and finally set it to “more dry” to dry out the jeans.
