I’ve been moaning about my dryer for a while and now I’ve solved the problem . . which wasn’t a problem with the dryer after all. A little background — a few months ago, my dryer stopped shutting off. Once the timer went off, or if it was set to the auto sensor, when the clothes were dry, the heat stopped but the dryer kept turning with just cold air. I would open the door, hit cancel, even tried unplugging it and flipping the breaker for a while, but the minute I closed the door, it started turning again. I googled the symptoms and found that it had something to do with the lint filter/vent system. I always clean the filter after every load but Rita’s hair seems to slip right through the filter so Vince took that whole lint screen area apart and vacuumed it, then he did the same thing from the outside vent area. That didn’t fix it so he read that if you push this button and that button at the same time and do something else, you’d get the code for the part that needed to be replaced. He did that and ordered the part but by the time the part arrived, the dryer had fixed itself so he didn’t put it in.
Everything was good til week before last. I put clothes in the dryer early that morning and about 11, I happened to think . . heck . . that dryer is still going. Sure enough . . turn it off, open the door, hit cancel . . no matter what I did, it kept running. I told Vince and he said he’d change the part over the weekend.
Then I started thinking . . for the past couple of weeks, I’ve been having to dry the clothes twice, or at least add some time to the dryer to get them dry. It was like the vent was clogged. I took the lint screen out and poked and prodded and there didn’t seem to be any build up out there.
Then I walked outside to where the vent is located. Remember . . we did not build this house! I guess this is what happens when the dryer is in the middle of the house — the vent line goes through the foundation and sometimes comes out too close to the ground.
Dryer Vent
This thing sits right down on the ground. Let those weeds get just a little bit tall and it’s blocked! That’s what was wrong. Vince cut the weeds and after a couple of days, the dryer is working great . . drying the clothes and turning itself off!
As much as I’m opposed to using weed killer, I’m going to kill all those weeds and put gravel around that vent!
Ruth says
Isn’t that amazing?? All that time, effort, a new part ordered and You discovered it was due to weeds blocking the vent!! You could also dig that area out and put in a flat cement block with gravel around it. Depends on what you have around the house. Congrats!
Theresa says
I’ve used cement that I put down dry and rake flat, then spray wet. It’s easy to break out and remove, and the weeds can’t grow through it. I use about 2″.
Sandy says
I’m glad you’ve figured out your dryer problem! My dryer is in the center of the house in a hallway closet with the washing machine. The dryer vents up through the wall, through the attic, and up through the roof. I have to hire someone to come clean it out, which costs $200 or so each time!
Dottie N. says
Glad you figured it out – in our “new” OLD house, we have the same venting that you have and I’ve been wondering about snow (when we get it) blocking that area. So far, haven’t had any problems BUT, I’ll keep your note in mind when/if we get any blockage from the weeds in that area.
weddingdressblue says
Boiling water is a really effective non-chemical weed killer. I use it a lot and it does a great job.
Nancy says
A good weed killer is 2 cups vinegar and 1/4 cup epsom salts. put them in a spray bottle. shake until the salts are dissolved. spray on the grass it will be dead the next day.