It could be frustrating if your dryer won’t heat up without having an idea of how to resolve the issue. Normally, it takes a few seconds for most dryers such as Samsung, Maytag, Hisense, Kenmore, Whirlpool and others to start heating up once it’s turned on.
But if after turning on the dryer isn’t heating up after a couple of minutes then you want to check the dryer cord if it’s an electric dryer to know whether it’s connected to the power source and if it’s a gas dryer you would want to check to see whether you still have enough gas in the dryer to make the dryer heating element heat up.
With that being said, you will learn the steps to take to fix your “dryer won’t heat” up. These troubleshooting work for all dryers brands. Meanwhile, you might need to consider your dryer warranty first to see if you can still return it to the store where you buy the dryer and request a change or repair depending on what the warranty says.
But for this article, we will consider a DIY approach that you can adopt to revive your dryer if it won’t heat up and you are left with no option.
Why Dryer Won’t Won’t Up?
Your dryer won’t just stop heating up without a reason. But the reason is what you don’t know. It is worth noting that the reason why your dryer isn’t heating up is different from why your dryer stopped working. So, here, we will quickly state some of the reasons why your dryer heating element might not heat up when the dryer is turned on.
- The dryer cable is not properly connected to the power source or empty gas.
- Low current can also cause your dryer not to heat up on time.
- The dryer is not evenly loaded.
- Your dryer won’t heat up if the dryer’s vent is blocked with debris or external objects as this will obstruct the dryer’s airflow.
- Your clothes are not properly spun.
How to Fix Dryer Won’t Heat Up
If your dryer won’t heat up you won’t be able to dryer your clothes even when properly spin. In a worst-case scenario, if your washing machine isn’t spinning too, it will be hard to sundry your clothes. Therefore, we will consider some ways that you can troubleshoot your dryer if it won’t heat up at home. 
Check your Dryer Cable or Gas Volume
Before you start to think weird about your dryer when your dryer won’t heat up you want to check whether the dryer cable establishes a connection with the electric source and if it’s a gas dryer check whether the gas is empty. At the same time, a low current could cost your dryer not to heat up.
Even though it seems too basic, it could be all you need to do to fix your dryer when connected and not heating. Also, if you are using an electric surge protector, you can remove the surge protector to see whether the dryer will start heating up without it.
Meanwhile, if there is no proper electrical supply your gas won’t heat up. Whether you are using a Samsung dryer or a Maytag dryer, the dryer volt is from a 240-volt circuit which is supplied by two 120 volt lines.
However, if one of the two 120 volt lines isn’t working your dryer will only start and run without heating up. And if you are using a gas dryer the appliance won’t heat, your dryer won’t be heating up if you don’t have enough gas.
Clean your Dryer Vent
Over time, if you turn on your dryer, it starts, and it isn’t heating up, then, you should consider checking your dryer vent. What you need to do is to able to clean your dryer vent.
- Switch off your dryer either [gas or electric].
- Remove the plug from the power source to confirm that you are not at the risk of electric shock.
- Remove the dryer from the location where you placed it to allow you access to the back of the dryer.
- Unscrew your vent from the hose to be able to remove or detach the dryer from the hose.
- Insert your vacuum cleaner into the vent to clean and remove the debris.
Clean your Dryer Lint Screen
Cleaning your dryer lint screen can also help to fix your dryer isn’t heating up. So, we will take you through the process to take to clean the screen of your lint dryer.
- Pull up the lint screen straight to you.
- To open the lint screen press the tab down button
- Roll the dryer lint off the screen using your fingers
- Use a dry clothing material such as a napkin or towel or brush to clean the lint. Do not use a wet material or rinse or wash the lint because wet lint screen is hard to clean
- Close the lint screen back once it has been cleaned and push it to firmly key it back into the position.
Note: It is worth noting that running your dryer with the lint screen open or broken or damaged can cause overheating which can affect the dryer and fabric. So, ensure to fix the lint screen back before you run the dryer after cleaning.
Your Dryer isn’t Even Loaded
The types of clothes you want to dry can determine whether your dryer will heat up or not. If you choose to dry both large and small clothes at the same time, it can cause the dryer not to heat up. However, for the effective performance of your dryer, you need to wash and dry clothes of the same texture especially if you prefer to use the dryer auto-dryer feature.
Therefore, if your dryer is well connected and/or you have enough gas in your gas dryer to heat up the dryer but the dryer isn’t heating up, then, check the types of clothes you have in the dryer.
Putting your duvet and singlet to dry in your dryer can affect the rate at which the dryer will heat up. But, if you have thick clothes in the dryer, the heat should be evenly distributed.
Note: Clothes will light cotton dry faster compared with clothes whose cottons ain’t light.
Your Clothes are too wet
For your dryer to heat up effectively you have to make sure that the clothes are evenly loaded and are not too wet. In a very rare case can a dryer dry your clothes if it’s too wet. Therefore, ensure that your wash spins most water out of the clothes before they are loaded on your dryer for drying otherwise the dryer heating up won’t be effective as early as expected.
The above suggestions are the basic approach to take to find out what could be wrong with your dryer not heating up and fix it. However, for an advanced check-up, consider the following troubleshooting to fix your dryer isn’t heating up.
Check your Thermostat and Temperature Switch
To make sure that your dryer heat is evenly distributed both the thermostat and temperature switch must be working perfectly. So, if either the thermostat or temperature switch is faulty your dryer won’t heat up because the heat will not be distributed equally.
So, when you turn on the dryer, the heat will start and trip off the thermal fuse automatically when the dryer gets too hot. If at the same time your dryer has the high limit thermostat feature it can turn off the heating element if the temperature is too hot. With this, your dryer can escape fire outbreaks.
Therefore, you should consider testing your thermostat and temperature switch with a multimeter if the dryer heating isn’t circulating or often trip off.
Faulty Heating Coils
If your thermostat and temperature switch and thermal fuse are working fine, and your heating coils are faulty, your working dryer but not heating up could be a result of that. However, to check this, you will need mechanical equipment such as screwdrivers, etc.
Check your Dryer Timer
Another mechanical fault that could cause dryer won’t heat up or dryer not heating is a faulty timer. If you dryer timer fault it will won’t produce an adequate heat. If your dyer cycle isn’t advanced the timer has gone bad. And if the your dryer timer has gone bad it can keep the dryer running until it is too hot or stop the dryer from generating the required heat via the heating element.
Instead of your dryer to start heating up after spinning the signal from the timer to initiate won’t come up thereby causing the dryer not to heat up because the timer is faulty.