Dryer Troubleshooting - Not Drying or Taking a Long Time to Dry 

Straight forward, no BS, not overly technical, to the point. You Sir, have created a template, for a what an instructional tutorial should look like. Great job, and I thank you for your time and effort, as you have helped me greatly.

Thank you sooooo much!!! My dryer works again and my husband owes me cooked meals for the next year because I just won the wife of the year award. I fixed it all by myself....

11 years later, this video is still coming in handy! Thanks so much! My dryer seemed to be working, it ran, was hot, but wasn't drying. My husband offered to replace it, but I was fairly certain it was an air flow issue. Thanks to your helpful video, I took it apart, and sure enough, it was packed with lint at the base of the hose. All cleaned out now and my 21 year dryer is running like new again!

This is exactly what I was looking for - how to take my dryer apart to clean out the lint. Looks like I have the same dryer so it's much easier. Thank you for being thorough and keeping the camera shot on target. Now I can get it cleaned, dry faster, save money on electric, and prevent a fire.

Hey Bill, great video. My wife called me today saying our dryer hasn't been drying and I was going to buy new washer and dryers since these are older ones we bought with our home. I found out my wife had somehow been letting chunks of lint fall down into the trap, and I also found a lot of nails and change. That just saved my 1,000 bucks for now.

Thank you so much for making and sharing this video. I am a housewife that depends on her washer and dryer for my large family. When the dryer wasn't getting hot and the clothes weren't getting dry, I didn't get mad or freak out like I use to. I just simply looked up your videos on RU-vid and within five minutes I knew what the problem was instantly! You have BLESSED me so much and I want to truly thank you for giving me in, the know how, and understanding of being able to fix stuff without bugging my husband to do it! LOL.

Thanks for taking the time to do that. My dryer was giving intermittent heat, squeeking, and rattling - it was going on 12 years old. The thorough cleaning did the trick. I started to get a little nervous when it was all in separate pieces but it is all back together and working! Thank You!

Sweet! I was literally about to text someone about buying a new dryer when my husband said we should troubleshoot first. I pulled this up, we watched it, and we both went out and cleaned out the dryer. It stopped working well after we moved in May, and as soon as you said the bit about it being on a truck we both looked at each other and sighed. Works great now! Thanks a lot!

Thank you so much. That was exactly the problem. With your instructions, I felt confident taking apart the machine, and of course I found ten years of accumulated detritis. Now the dryer is running and drying like new. Great video!

As a new home owner, I really appreciate you for making this video and saving me from having to pay for a service call! You're awesome! Thank you!

Bill, you took the fear out of me trying the clean the lint out of my dryer. Thank you for taking the time to record and share this.

Thank you Bill! Your down to earth, no nonsense videos have helped me to be the best appliance specialist in my big box store. Keep up the great work.

I am so grateful for this video! We replaced our dryer a few months ago thinking it was our old one, but when our new one started giving us issues, I knew it had to be something else! After watching this video, I went right outside to check our vent. We live on the back of a golf course and you'd never believe it but we've had a golf ball logged into the vent of our dryer for who knows how long! Still going to do a good cleaning since that could not have been good for our hosing, but I'm so glad I found the problem - even if it was a very specific and odd problem! Haha. Thank you so much for your insight and video!

Thank you very much, Bill! I followed your instructions and now my dryer is like a new one. Honestly, you made my day! All best wishes, Marina

Hey man just wanted to take the time to give you a big THANK YOU! Through watching your videos I was able to diagnose the problem with my dryer and fix it saving me a good amount of $$. And more importantly, keep the wife happy! Thanks again bro!

Hi Bill, I wanted to take the time to say: THANK YOU SO MUCH! We noticed our clothes were starting to smell kinda weird and were going crazy thinking it was our washing machine. If we had not watched your video, we would have probably spent money buying a new washer and continued to have the same issue! So thank you for taking the time to make this video! Everyone on youtube is trying to make people laugh or show others how to put make up on but you're taking the time to show people they can do this stuff on their own and that is AWESOME! Thank you! :)

Thank you SO much for taking this slow and step by step and making everything easy to understand and hear. Love your little helper, too!

We've had our Kenmore dryer for almost four years now. It recently had begun to take a lot longer to try a load of clothes. Your video came up when I searched for a solution. We were shocked at how clogged our lint trap and exhaust hose were! The trap and exhaust hose had MAYBE an inch of open flow space! I am OCD about cleaning the trap filter and even clean it halfway through the cycle when doing towels... I recently learned you should hand wash the lint filter regularly, I had no clue. Your tutorial was so informative and easy to follow. Thanks for posting! P.S. We have 2 gray tuxedo kittens (4 months and 2.5 months old), Oliver and Olivia, who also found our dryer cleaning chore a very interesting ordeal! ;)

Thanks so much. Good Job! I learned a lot. I was afraid of opening my dryer up and I didn't know who I was going to get to help me. I had a feeling there was a problem with the lint screen, housing, or vent hose. Now I can trouble shoot it and find out. I will have to get a pro to clean the vent, though, because it is on the roof. I really enjoyed your relaxed, conversational style. It was like having a big brother, a next door neighbor or a dad come over to show me what to do. You took the mystery out of what is in a dryer and you didn't talk down to your audience. Thanks again, I really enjoyed your how-to video. I wish you lived next door!

Bill, Truly the template for an instruction video! Articulate, straightforward and super clear. You are always who I know will supply this old car mechanic in NE Florida, how to do ANYTHING appliance related. So thankful I found you way back. Lee

I want to reitturate what others have said and say THANK YOU. I was never taught this by my father growing up and your videos give me more courage to delve into new ares of home repair.

I'm a home inspector and see a lot of long runs on dryer vent hoses and also plastic vent hoses. I always recommend that the plastic hoses be converted to metal for safety. But! I never thought about lint buildup inside the dryer housing. I'll make recommendations regarding that they be cleaned as well. Thanks Bill!

Thanks bud, I actually fixed something and made the old lady proud because of your helpful video.

Thank you. My husband was ready to take me to lowes this evening to get new ones (old bought 2003) and I said no lets look at it first. Sure enough I was horrified at what I thought was a "clean" dryer. So you're not the only one!! I found parts of an ink pen (husband is teacher). Yeah it is working good now, so far so good!! Thanks again.

Thanks -- now I'm very worried about using my dryer again before I do this. And very glad for the info. Nice little guest appearance.

Great tutorial! I was a about to go through the trouble of replacing my old dryer with a backup in storage until I went through the steps. Found so much lint and junk had accumulated in the bottom of the lint filter housing that it had solidified into a furry mess and had to break it loose. Now good as new! :-)

Your kind of attitude is what makes the world a better place! Blessings to you.

Its been 10 years since you put out this video...I have the same Kenmore unit. Its still heating up, tumbling, but, it wasn't drying in the same time frame anymore. I followed your instructions and it worked! Thank you from the future!

Thank you. This is just what I suspected was wrong and watching you step by step was a great help. Oh, yeah and the kitten definitely makes the video even better!

Not only a helpful, informative and straightforward video, with everything clearly explained and shown, but featuring an adorable kitten as your su-purr-visor! Nicely done!

Awesome! That's what I like to hear. Thanks for Watching!

Great video sir, very informative information that most homeowners ask questions to. As a 57 year old chef, I have been wanting to try my hand at a part-time appliance repairman for 8 years, just have never gotten any confidence for troubleshooting from books & pictures… very grateful Douglas

This was extremely helpful. Thank you. I followed every step you showed and my dryer is working great and I believe prevented a possible worse case scenario of an eventual fire. This is really great. Thank you. I will subscribe to your channel now.

Thank you very much for posting this Video, I used your tips and fixed my dryer! Now I save on my electric bill.

I really appreciate folks like you that take the time to make videos like this. Thanks SO much!

I have been fighting with dryer vents for YEARS- never, ever thought to attach it first, THEN the back of the dryer. And there's a kitten! 6:30 in to the video and I'm already so glad I found it! Thank you!

Many thanks! My Kenmore 90 electric dryer was not heating and your videos on troubleshooting and disassembly/assembly helped greatly in fixing my dryer. My clothes line is now sad and lonely again.

Hey Bill, My dryer stopped heating. I did everything you said and you were right. The high heat fuse went bad, I tore into this thing expecting to see the remains of lent wookie. I did not find any real blockage at all. But then the dryer is getting old. 10 yrs or older. In one of your other video's, you said to take it off and smack it on the ground. So I slapped it around several times. But that did not help. So I threw it on the floor, hard. When I checked it with the meter it was working. But as faith would have it one of the tabs broke. So, I still had to go and buy a new one. At any rate, I thank you so much for your help. She is up and running. And the wife thinks I am a hero. lol

I consider myself to be “handyman-challenged”. Our dryer has been acting up for several months now. It would usually take 4 drying cycles to dry a load of laundry. I checked out several Videos how about fixing the problem, but yours looked very simple and straightforward. So I decided to follow yours, and was amazed when I took off the back of my dryer and found that it was almost identical to yours. So it was very easy to follow your instructions and find all the places where lint was built up and get it cleared out. Absolutely thrilled to report that I’ve gone through two loads of laundry and it’s only taken one dryer cycle each to get them dry! Thank you so much for this video! I don’t feel so handyman challenged anymore! I’ve even pointed my neighbor to this video, because I think he’s experiencing the same thing.

Thank you so much for posting this video! My husband and I are not technical at all, but this video saved me! On my own, I followed step by step and sure enough there was a huge lint chunk blocking the bottom of the lint filter housing! My dryer is back to life! Thanks again!

KITTY! .... oh right, my dryers broken. FOCUS!

Thank you for this video. I did exactly what you did and now My dryer is good as new. I removed 2 WAl-Mart bags full of lint. Again thank you for the video! :)

Thank You so much for taking the time to make this video. Because of your effort in this, I was able to take the back off my dryer and I immediately noticed burned wires there. Your video could have very well saved our house from catching on fire. Thanks again.

Great how-to on basic dryer maintenance. I learned a lot and the quality of the presentation was terrific. Dryer runs much better now after cleaning the interior areas.

This video is a HUGE help. Thank you so much for taking the time to make it!

Thanks had my dyer over 10 years and never clean it. kept asking my hasband but came to relies I want something done I have to do it myself with people like you I can do it, thanks keep up the good work.

As always excellent, practical information with no fluff. Your experience and expertise flows like a waterfall. We totally appreciate you! Thanks a million to you and your wife! Happy wife happy life!

Thank you so much for this video!!!! just finished cleaning my dryer and i cannot tell you how lucky we are that it didn't catch fire and even still works!much appreciated.

OMG!!! thank you sooooo much, this video helped me get out of a 500$ dryer repair bill.

Awesome! I'm about to clean mine again one of these days. It's been about a year or so. Did you get inside the lint filter housing where it goes to the blower wheel? That's usually the worst area. You'd be surprised what you'll find in there. Thanks for Watching!

Just have to get on here and THANK YOU for sharing your knowledge of appliance diagnostics and repair. I was facing what I was sure to be a costly repair to my very old but dependable Kenmore dryer. I live alone and was dreading making a call for service, had no idea what it might cost nor where I was going to come up with the funds to cover it. Decided to look online for information to maybe lessen my anxiety and am so glad I did! Your step by step instructions were exceptional; I didn't even know where to begin but after watching your videos, I set about the task at hand and now my dryer is heating again and it cost me nothing!! You, Sir, are THE MAN!!! Thank you!!

Thanks so much for such a detailed (and entertaining) post! I have the exact same Kenmore dryer (and presumably matching washer) and if they ever stop making these incredible workhorses, life as we know it is over. :) Already did the first two steps (lint filter and vent hose); this weekend, I'll tackle Step 3. You make it look easy! Thank you!

Thank you so much for your help!! Dryer is back to business as usual!

I tried this and my dryer dries like new! Thanks a lot!

Hi Bill, thank you so much for the informative and honest video. We just moved into our home 6 months ago and have the previous owners' appliances, which are fairly new. I've been frustrated lately because it takes all day to dry a load of laundry. My husband and I are about to take the sucker apart and thanks to you we feel confident about the trouble areas to check.

That lint hint saved me a lot of time and money. Thanks for posting, and for being helpful, unlike ALL of my local appliance stores who just wanted to sell me stuff instead of helping diagnose the problem.

Well, heck..... thanks, Bill... I moved into this rental a couple of months ago and bought a used dryer, but it's never worked too well. I did the easy stuff first and went out to see if maybe a squirrel had stored something in the vent hole. Put on my gloves and stuck my hand in the hole and pulled out.... a large T-shirt, much too large for a squirrel. I think my problem may be solved but now I know I can break into the machine and do some further clean up if there continues to be an issue.

Thank you so much for these tips!. Very Useful video.

Our dryer started acting up a couple of days ago. Clothes weren't feeling completely dried after two cycles. Immediately we started calculating the year of the dryer. Which lead to thinking it was the heating element going out. Then I watched your video. Decided to the outside vent since the hose was changed about a year ago. Indeed the outside vent was completely full of lint. I cleaned the hose just to be totally safe. Thanks for the great informative video. You just saved me lots of money.

This was so helpful!! We got a used drier and it would not dry, even though it got very hot. I checked the vent hose things and there was no air coming out of them when the drier was on. After unscrewing the back and hose and interior lint thing, I found a huge clog of moldy water and wet nasty lint. I am so grateful you took the time to show and explain the whole process! We have a working drier now!!

Thank you for speeding up the video when removing simple screws.

5 stars because I love the cat, and also this made me thing to check my filter and it fixed my problem lol

Great video directly to the point. Even though this is not my dryer you have given me the basics on the repair. Thank you so much for your time and thoughtfulness.

These instructions were absolutely awesome! My laundry was starting to take far too long to dry. Using your video, my dryer is now operating like brand new again! And I thought that by cleaning the lint filter after every load I was doing good. Couldn't believe the amount of lint under the drum and around the motor. You've helped me give my dryer a new life! Thank you so much. (and I did it without my husbands help. Good thing I know how to use his socket set!)

I know i'm trolling, but I have to point out that I laughed when you called all the stuff under the dryer "shit", but then called the mouse shit "poop". great video though, very helpful. thanks for making this

I would also like to suggest if you use dryer sheets to remove the lint filter, run water over the lint screen and notice the water pooling on top of the screen rather than pass through the screen. dryer sheets have an agent on them and the agent stops the free flow of air. So clean the lint filter with hot water and soap at least once a month, this will also help cycle the moister out of the dryer rather than the dryer having to evaporate the moister.

Thanks a lot! My dryer was showing these symptoms. My wife stumbled across this video, and I followed your instructions and I think the problem is solved!

Great Video Sir,,,Thanks alot.

I've got my kitten and my tools and I'm going to work!

Great info! Thank you for sharing and for making our house more safe! Wishing you and your family all the best!

Excellent Video

Great video, have the same problem right now with a gas dryer, will let you know how it turns out after watching your video. Cute assistant!

Thanks For Uploading these video's. Saved us from buying a new dryer and preventing a house fire. mine was so clogged I cant believe it didnt catch fire. I replaced the thermal fuse and Cleaned Vent Housing so we are up and running again. Thanks again Bill.

That was awesome!!! I love that you started off as a professional and then your kitten comes to help!!! Even dropped an S-bomb!!! I just bought a new house for my wife and I, and I will tell you, while fixing everything (dishwasher, water heater, washing machine and now dryer) I have had to invent new swear words because the old ones weren't doing justice to the amount of frustration I was dealing with!!! Overall, very informative and very helpful!!! Thank you!!!

One other thing I like to tell people who use fabric softener or dryer sheets. Take your dryer filter & try to run water thru it. If the water is beading up on the filter & not moving thru...air is not gonna be able to move freely either. The softner will build up on the filter & you won't think twice about it because you can't really see it. I take my filter out once every few months & wash it by hand with Dawn dish soap & warm water. Dry it completely before reinstalling it in the dryer. You'll notice a huge difference in how well your dryer is working!! Hope this helps someone! It's the little things sometimes!!

thanks bro u saved me some money

Your video was a life saver! Dryer wasn't working very well, but didn't want to just throw money on parts without at least trying to fix it myself. Long story short, the dryer works like a charm, and the only thing it cost me was a little manual labor. Thank you!

This was super helpful. Between this video and the others on fuse testing and what causes a dryer not to heat, we probably saved $150. Going to have to buy some parts from you guys to show our gratitude.

i think kitty would like his own new dryer vent hose to play in, would provide hours of entertainment!

lol, you should see some of the dryers I pull apart, I can fill a shopping bag full of lint out of most of them if they have not been cleaned, ever. Thanks for Watching!

This video saved me at least $150. I own rental property (with washer & dryer included). The tenants complained that the dryer was not working. I have a full time job and thought about simply finding a repairman to look at the dryer. However, I found this video and, following the directions exactly, attempted the repair myself over 1.5 hours on the following Saturday. The tenants have relayed that the dryer is working perfectly now. Both my wallet and I thank you!!!!

Thank you sooo much! After watching your video, I went to look at my dryer and discovered the hose had a big kink in it and there was not air flow. You saved me money and a big head ache. I feel confident in taking care of my dryer.

Great Video now the dryer works good again and gets the wife off my back haha thank you

This video was extremely helpful! Thank you! And my cat helped too :)

Great help and saved at least $90 in a service call plus whatever the clean-out and inspection would have cost. After checking the silver vent air hose and lint filter which were clear, removed the back of the dryer and found the lint plug in the lint filter housing. Thanks for a great video and it only took a short time to clean and vacuum it all out. Works like new now. Thanks again!

Thank you!!! We couldn’t believe how dusty and how much crap was in the dryer lint trap. But it has been 15 years. Thanks again.

Wait! You've seen dryer sheets build nests??

You should train that kitten to crawl through the duct line. That should clean it out good.

Thanks very much for this video and your instruction. I have a Kenmore very similar to yours. I couldn't find a manual or any trouble-shooting guide published by the manufacturer. What you explained and demonstrated was enough to encourage me and inform and guide me to dismantle my dryer and clean out all the lint, which was considerable. More than just saving me the expense of a repairman, you helped me be self-reliant. Thanks so very much.

Thank you for a thorough, straight to the point instructional video. I LOVE your little helper!🐾

Damn if this guy doesn't know how to use a screw driver! Freaking amazing!!!

Question: is a kitten actually required in order to do this job?

Very helpful video! My husband is working on fixing the dryer now thanks to your clear directions. Much appreciated!

You just saved me a bunch of time and money. I had completely forgotten to check my outside vent and it was covered with lint. Thanks a bunch mate!

"There was a ton of shit on the floor" I lmbo at that.

Thanks this is helpful and mine family will be safer ,Perhaps should show how flammable that lint is ,Only takes a spark ,easier to flareup than gasoline I tried both .

3 nights ago our dryer quit drying. Found your video and took off the lent tube, not really expecting to find much, cause I am always cleaning the lint screen. Found about a pound of sand (we live at the beach). Cleaned it out, turned it on - and found the heat was working again. Thanks. Great help. I am sure you saved me at least a few more days without a dryer and certainly money.

Thank you! My dryer was taking way too long and I was able to fix it on my own, thanks to you! You saved me time and money.

140 people were too lazy to do the repair and paid someone else to do it.

Hi Bill, my dryer was taking forever to dry clothes, usually 2 or more cycles. I had checked the exhaust to see if air was coming out about 2 weeks ago and it was. what I didn't realize was that even though air was coming out, it was not near what should have been coming out. After watching your video this morning, I decided to clean all the areas you mention in this video and when we ran a load of clothes, BOOM! Dry! there were no major blocks, but several minor ones and now the air pours out of the exhaust vent. Thank you for the tips, they worked!!