When you put clothes in the dryer and turn it on, you expect to hear the soft thump, thump, thump of clothes falling. But instead of hearing the sound of clothes falling, all you hear is the hum of the dryer’s motor: something’s not right.
The drum in your dryer spins your clothes to increase the flow of air around and through them. It is difficult for the clothes to dry if the heat does not circulate properly and impossible for them to dry if the drum does not rotate.
Before trying to figure out why your dryer isn’t working, turn it off by unplugging it or pulling the fuse out of the fuse box. If you have a newer house, you probably have circuit breakers instead of fuses. Locate the circuit breaker for the dryer in the circuit breaker panel and turn it off.
There are typically four components in your dryer that could be causing the problem, and each one is easily diagnosed.
Assuming your dryer’s motor is running, the first component to check is the belt between the drum and the motor. To access the belt, remove the front panel of the dryer cabinet. The belt should be wrapped over the drum, under the idler wheel, and around the engine drive pulley. If the belt is in the correct position and everything looks good, check for small cracks. Take a small section of the belt, about 2-3 inches, and fold it between your thumb and forefinger. If the belt is broken, it must be replaced. As a general rule, the belt on your dryer should be replaced every 5 to 8 years.
The second component to check is the idler pulley wheel. The pulley is attached to a movable arm and applies tension to the belt. Slide the belt off the pulley and give the pulley a spin; it should rotate smoothly and not wobble. If the pulley does not turn smoothly or wobbles, it needs to be replaced. You can simply replace the pulley on some dryer models, but others require an arm assembly as well.
The pulley and belt usually wear at the same rate, so if you replace one component, you should replace the other as well. Never operate your dryer with a damaged pulley; puts unnecessary stress on the motor pulley and could damage the motor.
The third component that you should check is the engine. Use a multimeter to check the motor terminals and ground connection. If the motor fails any of these tests, it must be replaced.
The fourth and final component to check is the door switch, a one-inch piece of plastic with metal terminals. The switch prevents the dryer from running when the dryer door is open. When you close the door, you press a small button on the front panel of the dryer. The button activates the door switch and the dryer starts up. When you open the door, the button is released, you turn the switch off, and the dryer stops.
Removing the switch on some dryers is easy, just pry it off. Other dryers need to remove the front panel. Test the door switch for continuity with an ohmmeter. Incorrect readings indicate that the switch is faulty and needs to be replaced.
You may need a service technician if you find it difficult to do this repair yourself or if you don’t have an ohmmeter or multimeter. A service technician can perform the test for you and advise you which parts need to be replaced.