Ever wonder how impactful negligence toward dryer maintenance can become?
The fact is the implications of failing to maintain your dryer can be very problematic. Many issues can arise from a lack of proper care to your machine. Whether it happens now or later, without a doubt, the wear and damage caused by negligence will leave you needing dryer repair assistance.
The biggest mistake people make is ignoring the lint trap. Seriously, this thing needs to be cleaned out after every single load of laundry. Get into the habit of cleaning it either when a load finishes or before starting the next one. If you let it fill up at all, the risk of lint, dirt and debris falling down into the inside of the machine is greater. From there, it will damage your blower wheel which can then short out and render the machine broken.
Next, failing to catch early warning signs of faulty parts will lead to a 'snowball effect' of machine problems. The biggest indicator of an issue is drying times exceeding your expectations. Keep note of how long a load of laundry takes to finish drying on average. Compare this figure over time; if a normal load takes 50% longer all of a sudden, chances are the heating element or another relevant part is faulty and needs to be replaced.
Also be careful with softener sheets in your dryer. The residue left over is sticky and can jam up the lint trap. The stickiness also heightens the chance of it gluing to lint and escaping the trap, falling into the chute and heading down into the machine.
Furthermore, check that your dryer is level on the floor. Heavy loads can violently rock back and forth on uneven floors which is very damaging to internal parts.
Ever wonder how you can make your dryer work faster? A seriously sluggish machine might have underlying issues that need to be addressed. Some minor maintenance might help to clear up the issue. You should see if general maintenance efforts fix the problem before diagnosing internal parts. Clean out the vents, lint trap and lint trap chute. Take apart your dryer to vacuum up dirt, debris and lint that fell into the machine. Hopefully those minor adjustments can make a real difference, however if it does not you will need to get your appliance diagnosed.