Electric Dryer Question

[sadbunny]

I've always had a gas dryer and since we moved, we now have an electric dryer and it seems to be taking two hours to dry a large load of clothes. Is that normal for an electric dryer? Or do we just have a "bad" dryer? We had bought it used so it's definitely a possibility. I'm just not sure what to expect for drying times. For the gas one we had, it dried clothes in about an hour.

[ett]

I have an electric dryer and it takes an hour for a large load. Something definitely doesn't seem right if it's taking 2 hours to dry.

[twowhat?]

Definitely not right! We have an electric dryer too that is several years old and it will dry a regular load in 30-45 min (with wool dryer balls) and a very large load (also with wool dryer balls) in an hour. On medium heat (we never use the med-high or high heat settings).

[sadbunny]

Thanks, I'm thinking we're going to need to buy a new washer dryer set...so disappointed b/c we bought it from someone in Craigslist and we had good luck in the past but it's kind of hard to "test" a washer and dryer before buying it used.

[khm]

Thanks, I'm thinking we're going to need to buy a new washer dryer set...so disappointed b/c we bought it from someone in Craigslist and we had good luck in the past but it's kind of hard to "test" a washer and dryer before buying it used.

You could try making sure all the lint traps are clean, there are some that require taking panels off and maybe using a snake type tool. You should be able to pull up a manual online and do some basic troubleshooting. I've also used YouTube for basic repairs, but it sounds like yours works, just not well.

[jerigirl]

You could try making sure all the lint traps are clean, there are some that require taking panels off and maybe using a snake type tool. You should be able to pull up a manual online and do some basic troubleshooting. I've also used YouTube for basic repairs, but it sounds like yours works, just not well.

Before buying a new dryer definitely make sure all of the traps are clear of lint build up. A few times a year we have to clear the vent on the house to the outside where the dyer exhaust goes. Regardless of the dryer you should do this anyway as it can become a fire hazard.

[catsnkid]

Definitely get a brush and clean out the lint in the machine/vents. My mother had a problem when she moved to her new house because not only was the vent to the outside full of lint, someone had dropped a hacksaw down there. (probably during construction). I will also say that perhaps your washer takes a bigger load than the dryer. We got a slightly bigger washer which SO tended to overfill, and we were having the drying problem as well with my old machine.

[baymom]

Our electric dryer (though not super large capacity) only takes an hour, tops, to dry a full load. I agree with PP to check the lint traps and try trouble-shooting. Two hours definitely seems excessive.

[trcy]

We have an electric dryer and it used to take over 2 hours to dry a load. Recently we had the vent cleaned and now it only takes about a half hour on medium heat. I would try that before getting a new dryer.
ETA: Opps, didn't realize this was an old post, sorry!

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