Dryers generally ought to be fixed rather than replaced, correct? Because they’re really simple? It’s about 20 years old, I think (I got it when my parents upgraded ten years ago), a Kenmore, electric, and last night it stopped heating.
Did I mention we cloth diaper a six month old? We NEED a dryer.
My dad offered to buy me a new one. Now, I mean, eventually it is going to die, right? So maybe I should take him up on it now? Dryers haven’t really gotten much more energy efficient, though, right? And they’re expensive. How long should you expect a 20 year old dryer to go on? Is it worth fixing? It’s $89 just for the service call (although that goes toward labor if they fix it.)
A new basic dryer runs around $300. If it’s going to cost you $100 just to diagnose the problem, it might be worth getting a new one, but OTOH it could just be that the heating element went kablooey and you could fix it for $10. There are lots of useful videos on Youtube these days so if anyone is fairly handy it could work, but…we spent a summer trying to fix a dryer and wound up buying a new one at the end of it. We could have saved ourselves a lot of money and time by just buying the dryer.
PS. 20 years is a good solid run for a dryer. You can’t really expect it to last longer than that.
When I was going through the inspection for my house I noticed the original (~1980) washer/dryer and commented, “Yeah, I guess I’ll have to replace those,” to which the inspector replied, “Honestly, these will probably survive longer than anything you’d buy today.”
Sounds like you just need a new heating element. If you have an ounce of handyman in ya you can probably Google “DRYER MODEL NUMBER heating element” to find orderable parts and instructions. Seems like a better place to start than paying $90 just for someone to look at it.
I was amazed at the ease of finding repair videos on youtube for my model dryer. They can be really easy to repair depending on the problem. Maybe yours has a broken heater wire (the coil of wire that gets red hot when current passes through it).
That said, if your dad is offering to buy you a new one you might as well take him up on it.
There are a few simple fixes that don’t cost too much, but you’re probably going to end up costing a fair chunk of the price of a new one. I had a gas drier die and there’s only a few parts to fail. Unfortunately the one that died was 2/3 the cost of a whole new dryer, once you factor in labor.
I used to work in an appliance parts wholesaler. I met quite a few washer\dryer repairmen. Although there were a few good guys, the majority were out and out thieves.
You are probably better off with a new dryer anyway. Average lifespan for a dryer in 12-16 years. most of the cost will be energy. A gas dryer will cost about half of what an electric one will cost in energy.
This is most likely an easy fix. I assume you checked your screen to see if it was clean. FWIW, I too have had a Kenmore electric dryer for over 30 years now. The first thing to check after the screen is the duct work, since that’s the number one probable cause of your clothes not heating up any more. Chances are it got clogged up with lint. In fact, I just had that same problem six months ago. Take the duct work off altogether and see if your clothes start to heat up again. If not that, there are a few other areas that get clogged to that will involved taking other metal sides off.
As another suggested, youtube is a great place to figure out what the problem is.
While major appliances like air conditioners, refrigerators, and even clothes washers have undergone significant energy efficiency improvements during the past 20 years, the amount of energy wasted by clothes dryers in the United States has received little attention, and energy efficiency standards for them remain essentially unchanged. In fact, today’s typical electric clothes dryer sometimes consumes as much energy annually as a new energy efficient refrigerator, clothes washer, and dishwasher combined.
From an environmental advocacy group here. They do strongly push gas over electric as a strong cost savings, though if you have to pull a gas line the expense may not be worth it.
If you go that route, watch for places like Home Depot or Lowes (or small, local appliance stores) to have “Free Installation” specials. Often times that’ll include running the gas (or 220V as the case may be) to the location. Running gas lines isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s like plumbing with a twist (no pun intended). Also, if you have someone install if for you, I’d see if a permit needs to be pulled. I have no idea if permits need to be pulled for running gas lines, but if they do, make sure they pull one. This protects you in the case that something goes wrong with the installation.
My (old) dryer stopped heating. I Youtubed how to fix it, bought the part off Amazon (which was about $15 or so), Youtubed it again, then fixed my dryer. Took me about 30 minutes and that included watching the Youtube video twice, finding the screwdriver to remove the back of the dryer, and getting the cat out of the way to put the dryer back. And, I’m not particularly mechanically inclined.
I ordered the fix it fuses kit online on ebay for a few bucks and it worked… a few times then died again. The problem was not the fuses but the heating element overheating and blowing the fuses. A replacement heating element is not that expensive (about $20-$30) but following the youtube video instructions and getting to the back of the dryer removing the panel assembly and reinstalling is a good hour or two for a layman moving slowly and a big PITA if you are a large man in very cramped quarters.
So yes the fix it is easy and relatively cheap if you’re handy.
If so, the vent is probably blocked.
If not, the element is not working - a loose wire or a burned-out coil are most likely, though the switches on the panel could fail.
A dryer is a stone-simple device - a timer, motor with pully, a long belt and a heat source.
If you have an electric screwdriver you are probably handy enough (complete klutzes don’t usually buy power tools) to unplug it, pull it from the wall, remove the 6-8 screws holding the back on it and remove panel. Plug back in and run - see what dies or doesn’t happen. A voltmeter (or any line voltage tester (I have a 99 cent neon tube tester from 40 years ago. Best dollar ever spent) will tell you if the heating coil is getting current - it it is getting current but not heating - BINGO! - new coil. If it isn’t getting power, start tracing the circuit back until you find a disconnected wire of failed switch. If it’s the timer, it may be time to find a new dryer.
Dryers are just very energy-intensive. I’m not sure how much more efficient you could make them through research unless you adopted a non-heating method of drying. Everything I can think of in that category would take a lot longer to do a load. Since the OP is dealing with cloth diapers, I suspect even a regular dryer will be running 24/7.
For the OP: It’s a sad but true reality of the current economy that it’s almost always cheaper to replace something than it is to fix it. Labor is so much more expensive than materials. Plus, your dryer will be getting a lot of use in the next 18 years.
What I would recommend: Call around a bit and find someone who fixes broken appliances. They’ll take it away for free. Many of them are for-profit and will recycle what they can’t fix and resell, but some of them are charities. If you can find one, your old dryer could provide funds to a charity, job training for someone in need, and keep the dryer out of landfills all at the same time.
Say what!?! The cost of running a gas line will almost certainly exceed the cost of the dryer itself, especially an entry model. Even running or rerouting 220 wiring would wipe out any profit the store made on the appliance. I can’t imagine a store including these costs in the purchase price. Free installation means they’ll haul it in, slide it in place, connect the vent and plug it in.
