How to Fix Dryer not Heating

What do you gain when your tumble dryer is not heating? First, I can confirm that the dryer not heating up can be frustrating and can raise a whole bunch of questions when you want to drain moisture from your clothes but the dryer heating fails you. For as long as you can depend on your washing machine to do the washing for you so also is your dryer.

If either your washing machine or dryer isn’t working or spinning the clothes alone will be draining. However, if you are on the lookout as to how to fix a dryer not heating up after connecting to the wall socket or power source here is a guide for you.

Note: Negligence could cause your dryer not to heat up and lack of proper maintenance. Aside from these, you can easily find out why your dryer is not heating up and fix it within a few minutes.

The article on how to fix your dryer failed to heat will be useful for all dryers irrespective of the brand or product or even year of manufacturer. It works perfectly for Samsung dryers, Maytag dryers, Hisense dryers, and many other dryers.

It can cost a fortune to replace your faulty dryer or your dryer that is not heating up. However, the only solution we have here is to look for a way to repair the dryer and see whether it will start heating up. If you have a gas dryer, you can check out this guide to learn how to fix a gas dryer not heating up.

Therefore, we will centre this article around how to repair a dryer that is not heating up or a dryer that is heating up but couldn’t dry your clothes.

Warning: On no condition should you make use of a dryer when you want to sleep or dashing out as it can cause fire outbreaks.

Dryer not heating up

Causes of Dryer not Heating Up

So, you may want to ask why is my dryer not heating up after it’s plugged? Let me hint you some of the reasons why you have been experiencing dryer heating problems.

Here are some of the reasons why your dryer isn’t getting hot. You may want to check that out.

Some of the common causes of electric or gas dryers not heating up include the following.

  • Tripped Circuit Breaker
  • Clogged Vent
  • Faulty Thermal Fuse
  • Heating Element is Broken
  • Empty or not Gas Flow

If you can access these causes of dryer heating problems you can fix your tumble dryer yourself. However, the only limitation you will likely face is getting the required tools to accomplish this. But, if you have got the necessary tools, follow the steps below to see how you can overcome your dryer not heating up problem.

Aside from the technical reasons why your dryer may not heat up that we listed above, the following can also contribute a quota to why your dryer is not heating even without a faulty electrical connection. Some of these include:

  • Your dryer is plugged but there is no connection between the dryer’s plug and the electric current. Check your wall socket and see whether you need to repair the socket or better still try another socket to see if the dryer would heat up.
  • Your dryer is half-closed half-opened. Check the dryer’s door and see whether it can be closed better. Or if there is excess load causing the dryer not to close as expected, remove some of the clothes and see if it closes.
  • If your dryer is on an ECO mode or cool Setting it won’t probably heat up as expected.
  • If you are using a gas dryer, then, it could mean that your dryer’s gas has finished or is empty. You need a refill at this juncture otherwise your dryer won’t heat up. But for an electric dryer, there is no need to refill your gas, all you need to do is to ensure that the dryer is well connected to your electric source.

How to Turn off ECO Mode

Turning off ECO mode in your dryer depends on the type of dryers that you have as the process might not be the same but the purpose is to see whether the ECO mode contributes to the non-heating up of your dryer.

Therefore, we will consider some of the dryers we have come by in the past and review how you can simply turn off their ECO mode. Meanwhile, if your dryer is not on the list, do not hesitate to leave a comment as to how to turn off your dryer’s ECO mode.

  • Connect your dryer to the power source or wall socket.
  • Press the ECO button.

If the ECO mode is already active the steps above help to disable it but if it’s not, there is no need to select the cycle selector in your dryer preference.

Note: The ECO mode is included in your dryer to reduce the power consumption. So, if the ECO mode is turned on and it affects the way your dryer heats up, you should disable it to see whether the dryer will heat up the way it should.

Faulty Tripped Circuit Breaker

If your dryer circuit breaker is tripped then you should consider repairing it or changing it. Meanwhile, this needs some technical skills so that you won’t worsen the situation. You can contact an expert if you can’t do this yourself. But if you believe in yourself and have all the basic equipment, following the steps below will lead you through the price to take to repair your fault dryer circuit breaker.

  • Turn off your dryer and unplug it from the wall socket or power source to turn off the dryer main breaker.
  • Remove your dryer cover from the back to reveal its components including the dryer’s electrical wiring and the circuit breakers.
  • Unscrew the screws holding the dryer’s black and red wires to the breaker. Remove both the black and red wire from the screws by pulling both after unscrewed.
  • Remove the circuit breaker from the panel by pulling it.
  • Insert the breaker’s replacement from the source where the damaged one was pulled. Insert both the black and red wire from where they were removed as well.
  • Screw the wires with the bolt you removed or unscrewed.
  • Now, cover the panel at the back, screw it, and leave no unscrewed bolt.

If this is not what you can do on your own do not hesitate to contact a service provider so that it won’t escalate more than the dryer not heating up to the circuit breaker no longer working or something of sorts.

Clean your Dryer Clogged Vent

How often do you check out your dryer clogged vent and do the cleaning? If you can’t remember the last time, it could be the reason why your dryer is not heating up. Well, we will take you through the steps that you can follow to revive your dryer’s vent and clean it in the proper way.

  • Unplug your dryer from the power source to avoid electric shock during the cleaning. And if your dryer is a gas dryer, you need to turn off the gas before commencing the process.
  • Turn on your vacuum cleaner and insert it into the dryer’s exhaust duct to vacuum or remove all dirties or clothes or debris stored in it that is stopping the dryer’s airflow.

Once you have removed the debris blocking the dryer vent fix the vent back and see if the dryer will start heating up.

Faulty Thermal Fuse

If your dryer’s thermal fuse is faulty it can cause the dryer not to work or start talkless about not heating up. So, here we will discuss how to access and change your dryer thermal fuse if it’s faulty.

  • Switch off your dryer.
  • Unplug it completely from the electrical power.
  • Unscrew the back pane and remove it.
  • Locate the thermal fuse and remove it.
  • Install a new fuse appropriately as it were before you remove it so that the cover can cover it perfectly.
  • Cover the panel and screw all the unscrews.
  • Plug the dryer and turn it on to see if the dryer will start.
  • If the dryer not heating problem occurs due to a faulty thermal fuse, it should be fixed after now.

Heating Element is Broken

When your dryer is not heating up it could be more than just the vent airflow is blocked or the thermal fuse is at fault. If the heating element is broken, it is a thug-of-war for your dryer to heat up.

Therefore, if your dryer not heating up is still not fixed with the troubleshooting steps above, we will admonish you to follow the steps below to confirm whether the heating element is broken and need a replacement.

  • Turn off your heater and disconnect it from the electrical power to avoid electric shock.
  • Pull off the dryer vent at the back by first removing the band clamp that the secure he dryer vent.
  • To access the dryer heating element, place the dryer face down showing the back opposite to you on a clothing material so that it won’t get dirty.
  • Unscrew the metal screws that cover the dryer’s panel to open and have access to the dryer’s heating element.
  • You should see a large canister with multiple wires going inside of it. If you open the canister you will see your dryer heating element. To expose the heating element, unscrew and remove the canister.
  • Inspect the wire and coil to see if damage has occurred in either the wire or the coil. However, to confirm whether the heating element is in a good condition, the wire will be solid and has no break. On the contrary, a broken wire or coil connotes that the element is damaged.

Why is my Dryer not Heating Up?

The following could be the reason why your dryer is not heating up.

  • Electrical fault
  • Blocked vent airflow
  • Faulty thermal fuse
  • damaged heating elements
  • The dryer is not connected to a power source.
  • The dryer’s door is not properly closed.

Dryer not Getting Hot

The same reason why your dryer is not heating up is also responsible for your dryer working or starting but not getting hot. If your dryer isn’t getting hot then there is no way you can dry your cloth. Therefore, unlock the dryer and check the following.

  • The dryer is connected properly to the wall socket or power source.
  • Your dryer is working. If the dryer is not starting, then, the dryer won’t become hot.
  • It’s also in the known that your dryer not heating up also occurs when your dryer’s door is half closed and half opened.

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