YESTERDAY, I wrote this post about how we disassembled our fancy clothes dryer in an attempt to replace the heating element. Because I'm a dryer diagnostic expert, and that's what I decided needed to be replaced. Read Part I, up through the cliffhanger ending, then see below to find out how the saga continues:
10:10 a.m. – Meg resumes work. Reinstalls lint trap, tries to remember what comes next.
10:15 – reassemble the #$%^&! door switch – the one that took hours to disassemble – in about 1 minute.
10:49 – Dryer is mostly put back together, plugged in, and… WE HAVE HEAT!! We also have a few extra screws, despite our careful cataloging system during disassembly.
Reattaching the bottom front panel will be a 2-person job, and I can’t quite see where those screws go, but otherwise, it's back together. I turned it on and... WE HAVE HEAT! So I throw a load of sheets into the washer, then put them into the dryer, and... we have heat, but the drum isn't turning. Which means the belt is slipping or the drum wasn't put back correctly. Which means we have more work to do.
12:30 p.m. Hang sheets on line to dry.
4:05 p.m. We agree to walk away from it, since today's a holiday, and give it one more try this week before we call in a pro. So, friends, keep your fingers crossed for us, will you please?
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: I can’t overstate how much lint was inside the dryer cabinet (outside the drum), as well as packed down inside the lint trip and the tube where the exhaust exits the dryer. This is a small portion of what we cleaned out:
I also pulled compacted chunks of the stuff out of the vent tube that goes from the dryer to the outside. People, we only took on this dryer repair in order to save money – not because we have any aptitude or enthusiasm for home repairs. But now that I’ve seen what lurks inside, I will be checking the lint filter area and back tube on a regular basis. Because you know what they say about improper dryer venting causing house fires.
