Clothes Dryer Issue

[Scoop Sea]

Gents: I bought a Whirlpool Dryer from Badcock in Crawfordville about a year ago and the dang thing just doesn't do a good job of drying clothes, EVERY dang load has to be run twice. I talked to a buddy about this and he said the line running outside was probably gummed up with lint. Well, I cleaned the line from dryer and the PVC line running outside and yes it had lint. Surprisingly to me, the pvc pipe had standing water in it, so I got all of the water out, made sure the lines were cleaned and went back to drying (or should I say not drying) clothes. I still have the same problem, it takes two cycles to do a load. I did check the pvc line again a little while ago and noticed that it had water in it again. I don't know if this is impacting the drying times, etc. Furthermore, I don't know how the water got back in there. Earlier this week when I cleaned it, I attributed the water to condensation over the last 4 plus years, but since I just dried it out Sunday and it now has water again, I'm not sure I can stick with that assumption. In turn, if anyone has any suggestions on what may be causing the loads to not get dry and/or why I have ended up with water in the pvc pipe again (yes it's at a 90 degrees above the ground and is vented/covered) I would sure appreciate your two cents. In advance, thanks.

[reelbad]

JT should be on in a moment, He will know.

[charlie tuna]

Are you sure you have 240 volts to the dryer? And that the pig tail is connected correctly. Double the time to dry tells me you might have half the designed power?

[Scoop Sea]

Are you sure you have 240 volts to the dryer? And that the pig tail is connected correctly. Double the time to dry tells me you might have half the designed power?

Yes sir, that's all correct. My last dryer (a dryer I had 10 years but finally gave out) worked fine until the end of it's lifecycle.

[Jumptrout51]

Remove the connecting duct from the rear of the dryer.
Run a load on TIME DRY for 45 minutes to see if the load dries.
The connecting duct MUST be short and as straight as possible from the dryer to the outside duct connection.
Any air flow obstruction adds drying time....kinked duct,lint,water in pipe,90 degree bends etc.
Most loads should dry in 45 minutes or less.

[Scoop Sea]

Thanks JT, I will try that tonight, I was wondering if the connecting duct was "pinching" or causing the problem. Any idea why I am getting water in the pipe?

[Jumptrout51]

It will condense in the pipe from the dryer running. If you have a high water table on your land it could seep in through unsealed pipe joints.
If the laundry room is adjacent to the garage,you might be able to re-route a dryer exhaust duct through the wall and down the inside wall of the garage.
I have solved some peoples problems doing that.

[charlie tuna]

Ten years ago dryers had a three wire receptacle -- today's have a four wire??????????????

[Jumptrout51]

3 wire receptacles are L1....L2....and Ground.
4 wire receptacles are L1....L2....Neutral and Ground.

[Scoop Sea]

JT: I took the duct off and it definitely helped. I then "shortened" the duct as much as I could, but the dryer is still not getting the job done. The problem appears to be that the duct on the back of the dryer is below grade of the duct for the exhaust on the wall, in turn the vent hose has to come out, then do a 90 to go up, then snake back down into the vent. Without raising the dryer up on a platform, I can't see how to fix this. By chance do you have any suggestions of what may have worked in the past. In advance, thanks......

[fishinfool]

Scoop,
It sounds like you have an obstruction in the vent pipe. I have fixed this by running a plumber's snake through the pipe, then tying a rag to the end of it(securely) and pulling the rag back through. This acts like a chimney sweep and drags out any lint and moisture that has built up. In the past I have gotten enough lint to fill a gallon jug. Believe me it makes a huge difference!

[charlie tuna]

Take the hose off the back and run a load of clothes --- that will narrow the problem down.

[wevans]

Seems like I done read that one Charlie JT will git him fixed up

[zload]

If it is a blocked vent line under a slab you can buy a duct sweep that is similar to a chimney brush with flexible rods. Hooks up to a drill and spins a brush to clean out the lint buildup. I've done mine several times and when my wife notices the drying time getting a bit long that usually solves it. I think Lowe's carries them if a local appliance repair shop doesn't. You can also by extensions to reach way down the line. I had a wet soggy mass in mine the first time and it pulled it out.

[Jumptrout51]

JT: I took the duct off and it definitely helped. I then "shortened" the duct as much as I could, but the dryer is still not getting the job done. The problem appears to be that the duct on the back of the dryer is below grade of the duct for the exhaust on the wall, in turn the vent hose has to come out, then do a 90 to go up, then snake back down into the vent. Without raising the dryer up on a platform, I can't see how to fix this. By chance do you have any suggestions of what may have worked in the past. In advance, thanks......

1.What size loads are you drying? Normal? Heavy?
2.Is the washer spinning out really good?
3.What do you mean by "snake back down into the vent"? Your duct from the dryer should over the wall vent NOT inside it.
4.How far is the wall vent from the dryer vent?
5.Do you have an accurate thermometer you could put inside the dryer exhaust duct? Then run the dryer on high heat with no laundry to get a accurate heat reading from the exhaust temperature.NOTE(it will increase,then decrease,then increase again.)It should be 160 degrees or higher.