Tumble Dryer Maintenance to Keep Your Dryer in Tip Top Shape
Tumble dryer maintenance is key to prolonging the lifespan of your humble tumble dryer. Tumble dryers can be such lifesavers in winter. And it's especially useful in situations where you need to have something washed and dried quickly and easily without any fuss.
Like any home appliance, your clothes dryer needs regular maintenance to make sure it’s running safely and efficiently. Without this, your dryer may stop drying as effectively, overheat or stop working altogether when you need it the most. Here are a few simple tumble dryer maintenance care tips to keep it in tip-top shape.
Clean the lint filter
With every load of washing you put through your clothes dryer, lint accumulates in the filter from loose fibres, fluff and dust. The lint filter prevents this debris from clogging up the flow of air through the machine’s ventilation system. Lint is highly flammable, and if the lint filter isn’t being cleared regularly, it builds up and causes the dryer to overheat, which can become a very real fire risk.
Cleaning the lint filter every time you use the dryer is one of the easiest and most important tumble dryer maintenance steps you can take, to ensure adequate airflow is maintained and to prevent a potential house fire. Most lint filters can be removed completely to make cleaning them quick and painless, and, while usually located at the front of the dryer there may be an additional filter at the back to check. If your lint filter is old and worn, replacement dryer filters can and should be purchased and fitted.
Clean the air vents
Your tumble dryer maintenance should include cleaning the air vents regularly at the back of the machine to clear out any lint and dust that have gotten past the lint filter. Turn off the dryer at the wall, and then simply vacuum the vent to clear any accumulated fluff to ensure the dryer has adequate airflow and doesn’t overheat, and then wipe it carefully with a damp cloth.
Wipe down the drums
Wiping down the drum is another quick and easy tumble dryer maintenance step that’s necessary to keep it running efficiently. Over time, your clothes dryer’s drum can get grimy and dusty from repeated loads, which can cause the machine to work less effectively and make future loads of washing dirty. Newer machines have sensors located in the dryer drum to monitor when clothes are dry, and an accumulation of dust and muck can interfere with these working properly.
The drum can be easily wiped down with a damp cloth and either white vinegar or bleach diluted in water. Safety first though – turn off the dryer at the wall before cleaning the drum, or unplug it completely, to avoid any potential mishaps.
Clean the dryer's fan belt
All dryers have a fan belt, located at the back of the machine. Depending on the model of your clothes dryer, this may be under a backplate. If the belt is old and worn, it may be causing your dryer to cut out or run inefficiently.
Replacing the dryer fan belt is a critical piece of tumble dryer maintenance that may likely need to be done at some point in your dryer’s lifetime. This is a fairly straightforward repair that can be done with a few simple home tools, and you can ask the experts at WW Spares for help and advice on the parts you need and how to do this.
Need dryer parts?
Your home clothes dryer can get a lot of work and very little love over its lifetime, but regular tumble dryer maintenance will help prolong its life and ensure it’s running efficiently and safely. If you need replacement parts for your dryer, or advice on whether your dryer fan belt or other parts need replacing, get in touch with our professional staff for friendly advice and service. We have a huge range of spare parts available at discount prices. We’re always here to help.
