Dryer Ventilation

Hello Folks, my name is Rich from Western Appliance Repair in Meridian and Boise Idaho.

In this blog post I’d like to discuss dryer ventilation and how important it is.

Dryer ventilation originates at the blower wheel.  Dryer motors have this blower wheel directly attached to the dryer motor so that when the dryer drum is rotating the blower wheel will be rotating and blowing air out the back of the dryer at the same time.  The blower wheel is located in a housing/duct so as it is blowing air out the back of the dryer it is also sucking air from the dryer drum via ducting.

This airflow is there for the purpose of removing the moisture and air from the inside of the drum during the drying process.  If there is an air restriction somewhere then the dryer can overheat and will not dry the clothes properly.  In many instances Boise and Meridian appliance users will feel that there dryer is producing heat but are confused at why their clothes are not getting dry.

This can be cause by a few different things:

  1. A restricted house vent duct. This is the ducting that runs from your dryer to outside.  This is the most common problem.
  2. A clogged lint filter. A lint filter should be cleaned before every dry cycle.  I hate to say this but I am guilty of not cleaning this on my home dryer.  It happens but I think I’ve learned my lesson.
  3. A broken or clogged blower wheel. Please see my picture.
  4. A clogged internal dryer duct. This will require disassembly of dryer to clean this out.