When a clothes dryer doesn’t heat the air but its drum rotates, something has interrupted the heat source. Run the dryer for a couple of minutes, making sure you don’t have the dial or controls on a non-heat setting such as “
When a clothes dryer doesn’t heat the air but its drum rotates, something has interrupted the heat source. Run the dryer for a couple of minutes, making sure you don’t have the dial or controls on a non-heat setting such as “Fluff” or “Wrinkle Release.”
With an electric clothes dryer, no heat often means that the circuit breaker or fuse that controls the power has blown; reset or replace it. Be aware that a dryer may have two breakers or fuses. The motor will run when one works, but the heating element requires both. In some cases, an electric dryer doesn’t work because of a broken heating element—call an appliance repair person for this fix.
With a gas dryer, if you think someone may have turned off the gas supply, check the gas valve behind the dryer to be sure it is turned on and also make sure the house’s main gas valve is turned on.
Most modern gas dryers have electronic ignition instead of a pilot light. If yours has electronic ignition and isn’t heating at all, call an appliance repair person. With an older dryer, make sure the pilot light is burning. If it isn’t, relight it; instructions are typically in the owner’s manual and may be mounted next to the burner.
Dryer Doesn’t Get Hot or Gets Too Hot and Shuts Off
For a dryer that produces heat but not enough of it—or shuts off because it gets too hot—first check and clean the lint trap to make sure it isn’t clogged with lint. Then take the following steps:
1 Be sure the dry