dryer woe

[ceelove]

Our gas dryer, she suddenly maketh no heat. Still tumbles, which can sorta kinda dry the clothes in a long while.

Now, this is an interesting problem to encounter while reading No Impact Man, and it's tempting to see how well I could do without. I suspect the housemates find this a less philosophical problem, though.

Suggestions, on what I can do to investigate the dryer myself? If not that, recommendations on dryer repair?

Meanwhile, I shall be grateful that it is the dryer, and not, say, the sump pump nearby, that is having woes. Oh ye gods and little fishes, indeed.

Comments

[crs.livejournal.com]

Harder to deal with no dryer on a day like today, when a clothesline will only serve to re-dampen your recently spin-cycled clothing.

[motive-nuance.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, line-drying clothes indoors isn't a net energy win when you're heating your home. The water in the clothes has to pull thermal energy out of the air in the room to evaporate. One way or another, you end up paying the cost associated with the water's energy of vaporization.

[ceelove.livejournal.com]

Interesting, thanks for letting me know.

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Although if you dry the clothes indoors in your unfinished basement, which is only heated by heat you're losing from your furnace and water heater anyway, and not connected to the temperature of your living room or the setting of the thermostat, that might be less true.

Good luck with the dryer! I've had good luck with dell's appliance repair. As long as they don't fix sump pumps and flood damage, they might even be able to call you back promptly. ;-)

[moominmolly.livejournal.com]

The relevant housemates might be interested in thinking about outdoor clotheslines this summer but right now kind of want to fix the dryer. But I'll just be kicking around the house from 5-8:30 or so and am happy to foolishly attempt home dryer troubleshooting (http://www.acmehowto.com/howto/appliance/dryer/diaggdryer.php). My only qualification is that I helped my dad fix the dryer when I was a kid.

[ceelove.livejournal.com]

I'm off to work now, but hopefully you can troubleshoot it this evening. :)

Oh, and a laundry-related reminder: get stained stuff to me for Oxybritening.

[dilletante.livejournal.com]

i'm terribly, terribly thankful for the continued operation of that sump pump, right now.

[entrope.livejournal.com]

Yyyyyyyyyeah, excessive water is a theme the past few days.

[beah.livejournal.com]

You would be welcome to come do laundry at my place, if you like. We are on the 8th floor, where it's dry, and currently, both our washer and our dryer are functional!

[dancingwolfgrrl.livejournal.com]

Living without a dryer is not bad except for laundry emergencies (which, you know, sometimes happen) and the need to be incredibly organized at all times to retain clean clothes.

Sears will send dryer repair people to you, although I have no idea if they're the best available dudes.

[abilouise.livejournal.com]

I have no idea about dryers, but Dell's appliance service on highland ave. has done really good things with dishwashers and refrigerators in apartments I've lived in.

[mathhobbit.livejournal.com]

They fixed my dryer too, IIRC.

[electrictruffle.livejournal.com]

With a gas dryer, you can have a couple of small things go that will prevent heating. The electric igniter can burn out, or one of the thermal cutouts can fail (these are supposed to detect when things get too hot, and then turn off the gas), or the gas valve can fail.

Another possibility is that the dryer is just fine but the exhaust vent is clogged. Is it possible that the dryer is heating up and then shutting itself off because of over-temperature, and is cold when you next check it?

I would actually put the effort into checking for mechanical clogging prior to doing any more detailed checking or hiring someone to do the detailed checking.

As far as line drying indoors: it _can_ be an energy win if you want the humidity; while it is quite true that the evaporating water is taking heat from the air, thus requiring you to run your heating system, you are not then pumping the hot humid air out of doors. If you are running a humidifier, then you are paying to evaporate water into your house anyway.

An experiment that I've wanted to try is setting up cloths to 'line dry' in a closet with a dehumidifier.

-ETR

Dryer repair

[searshomesvc.livejournal.com]

Dear Ceelove,
I’m sorry to hear about the problems you’re experiencing with your dryer. My name is Brian and I work for the Sears Home Services Team. At Sears we strive to exceed service expectations and would appreciate the opportunity to assist you with scheduling your washer repair even though you may not have purchased your machine from Sears. At your convenience please contact my office at SearsHomeSvc@searshc.com with any questions regarding the service or to schedule a visit from a Sears certified technician. In your email, please provide a contact number and a brief description of the symptoms you are experiencing with your dryer and we will call you at your convenience. In addition, please include your screen name (Ceelove) in your email for reference to your post on this site and we do look forward to talking to you soon.

Thank you,
Brian J.
Senior Case Manager
Sears Home Services

Re: Dryer repair

[obliocat.livejournal.com]

whoa! sears is stalking you cee! i assume you checked the gas pilot light by now, yes?

Re: Dryer repair

[ceelove.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I have to wonder just how badly Sears is hurting for business, to be trolling around LJ looking for people with dryer problems.

I haven't checked anything yet, but it looks like there's a plan of action shaping up.

Re: Dryer repair

[weegoddess.livejournal.com]

Actually, that's pretty innovative, if they're doing searches on public posts. Huh. I'm impressed, even if it does seem a bit trollish.

I hope that it's sorted by now!

::looks around furtively to see if anyone's noticing that I'm on LJ when i said I wouldn't be::

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

I've had very good luck with Dell's Appliance.

My gas dryer has needed repair a couple of times; the burners have just worn out. The cost was reasonable.