Tell me about your clothes dryer...

[FoxintheSnow]

We just moved to this house about 2 months and the landlord said he put in a new dryer, but it's horribly inefficient. I mean it looks new, I just think it's probably the cheapest dryer he could get. It seriously takes 3-4 hours to dry one load of clothes. Our energy bill has been really high and I think its because of the dryer. We're thinking of buying one, but only if its going to make a huge difference.

I live in central florida, so line drying isn't very practical. Ive tried it and it's so humid that the clothes never dry and just get this weird smell.

[chel]

maybe the vents need to be cleaned, I guess if it's brand new it's not the machine, but maybe the vent tube to the outside.

[mgilleran@earth-co]

Just a couple of things to check before buying a new one.
-Definitely check the venting as mentioned before.
-Is the temp set on high/regular? Mine got switched to medium one time & took forever.
-Is your washer spinning all the excess water out of your clothes? That can make a big difference too.

Good luck. I would imagine that 3-4 hrs/load would jack your bill up quite a bit.

[FoxintheSnow]

Ok please don't laugh at my stupidity, but regarding the vent-I can see where there is a tube that leaves the dryer and I see where it goes into the wall, but not where it comes out. I remember in my old house years ago being able to see the hole in the side of the house the dryer vented out of. This dryer is in the garage and it backs up to the house.

I always set it to high with a timed setting. I noticed the if I set to use the sensor it doesn't work. It just turns off randomly, not when the clothes are dry.

I think the spin cycle is doing a pretty good job. I mean the clothes feel about how I expect.

[AlbertaJes]

You need to find that hole where it goes outside. If it's not there, it could cause major problems. I believe that the sensor may pick up heat as well(?), not just dampness, so if it's not venting properly, it could be getting too hot which is why it's shutting off. I would find that exit vent before I did any more laundry at all.

DH's Aunt & Uncle have their dryer set up (very badly) so that it vents about 30 feet away from the dryer, with some major bends in the pipe in between. We're pretty sure some mice or something have taken up residence because they've been through 3 dryers in the last 4 years, and their new one is already taking more than twice as long as it needs to to dry.

[FoxintheSnow]

I just took a look and it looks like that metallic hose thing that comes out of the dryer is kind of smooshed, do you think that could cause a problem? It's going into a cinderblock wall and Im guessing up into the attic or something? We cant make any structural changes cause we are just renting.

[luvmy2boys]

If the tube is smushed, that could be a problem.

If it were me, since it's in the garage, I'd pick a time when I could leave the garage door open for a while, and just disconnect the tube entirely and let it blow straight into the garage. If your clothes dry in a reasonable amount of time, then you know it's a problem with the vent hosing. And since you rent, then you can call your landlord and tell them to come fix it.

[FoxintheSnow]

So dh unsmushed the hose last night and I think that may have worked. I ran the dryer with heat sensor (but fell asleep so Im not sure how long it ran) but this morning the clothes are all dry. Thats never happened before. Usually with the heat sensor they are still all damp or wet.

Thanks for all the helpful advice!!!