A hand pulling the lint screen out of the door opening of a front-load dryer.

What an owner can safely check

Troubleshooting
guides.

The checks you can make on your own dryer, and the point where going further stops being a good idea.

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Three guides
Read before you book
Says where to stop

Book a visit

Three short steps, about a minute.

or call (844) 314-5837

Troubleshooting,
guide by guide.

These guides cover the part of a repair that happens before anyone arrives: the checks an owner can make on a dryer with the door open, the screen out and a flashlight in hand. They are ordered the way a technician would work, from the supply at the panel to the airflow at the hood.

All 18 guides

A person kneeling beside a white gas dryer eased a little way from the wall in a US laundry room, shining a flashlight on the power cord and the gas shutoff valve.

5-minute read

Five checks before you call for dryer repair

The breaker, the door and control lock, the lint screen, the vent hood outside and the gas valve, in about fifteen minutes with no tools.

Hands pulling a lint-covered screen from the top of a white dryer in a US home laundry room, a vacuum crevice tool resting on the lid.

5-minute read

Clean the lint path first: screen, duct and hood

How to clear and wash the screen, reach the slot below it, open the duct behind the dryer and check the hood, and where to stop.

The open door of a white front-load dryer in a US home laundry room with a flashlight beam falling on a small barcode label on the rim of the drum opening.

4-minute read

Find your dryer's model number

The label hides inside the door opening, behind a water tank or on the door of a stacked unit, and it unlocks the manual, the parts and any recall.

What an owner can safely check.

Each check either closes off a cause or narrows it, and the notes you make along the way, such as which breaker, what the hood felt like or which label is inside the door, shorten the visit that follows. Finding the model number belongs here for the same reason: it decides which parts and which manual apply.

Every guide also marks a clear line. Opening the cabinet, testing live terminals, working on a gas connection or feeding a brush into a duct you cannot see the end of is where owner checks stop.

Not sure where to start?

The short answerFive checks before you call for dryer repair

Useful dryer troubleshooting before you call covers five things: power at the panel and plug, the door and control lock, the lint screen and its slot, the vent hood outside, and the gas valve or cycle setting.

The short answerClean the lint path first: screen, duct and hood

To clean the dryer lint trap properly, clear the screen before every load, wash the mesh when softener film builds up, vacuum the slot it slides into, then inspect the duct behind the dryer and the hood outside.

The short answerFind your dryer's model number

The usual dryer model number location is a label inside the door opening: on the rim of the opening, the frame beside it, or the inside of the door on stacked units.

When reading
is not enough.

If the checks in these guides did not settle it, the visit picks up from there, stop by stop.

What repairs cost

01Test before touching
02The price comes first
03The right part
04Repair and a test load

The problems
these answer.

Each has a page of its own, with the causes in the order worth checking.

All 17 problems

A finger pressing the start button on the control panel of a front-load dryer in a US home laundry room, a basket of clothes on the counter beside it.

Problem

Dryer Not Starting

5 causes, cheapest first

A dark, unlit dryer control panel in a dim US home laundry room with the door closed, a folded pile of laundry waiting on top of the washer next to it.

Problem

Dryer Not Turning On

5 causes, cheapest first

A hand holding damp towels just taken from an open front-load dryer in a US home laundry room, the drum interior visible.

Problem

Dryer Not Heating

6 causes, cheapest first

An exterior dryer vent hood on the painted siding of a US single-family house, its flap half open and a mat of gray lint caught around the edge.

Problem

Dryer Vent Clogged

5 causes, cheapest first

A parent and a child folding warm towels together on top of a front-load dryer in a bright laundry room — For the heart of your home.

Questions about
troubleshooting.

Do I need any tools for these checks?

A flashlight, a vacuum with a crevice tool and a level cover almost all of them. Nothing here asks you to remove a panel or use a meter.

What if every check passes and the problem stays?

Then the cause is inside the cabinet, and your notes are the most useful thing to hand over. Book a diagnostic visit and describe what each check showed.

Is it safe to do these checks on a gas dryer?

Yes, as long as nothing on the gas line is loosened and the dryer is moved only as far as its connector allows. Any smell of gas ends the checks: leave and call the gas utility from outside.

The other
sections.

Split by what you are trying to find out rather than by which part of the appliance it concerns.

All guides

A dryer door open with a load of towels still damp inside, a laundry basket on the floor in front of it.

Why the load came out like that

Back to your everyday

Let’s get your dryer working again.

Three short steps online, or one call. Tell us what you are seeing and pick a window that works.

Schedule a repair Call (844) 314-5837

Troubleshooting
guides.

Troubleshooting,
guide by guide.

Five checks before you call for dryer repair

Clean the lint path first: screen, duct and hood

Find your dryer's model number

What an owner can safely check.

The short answerFive checks before you call for dryer repair

The short answerClean the lint path first: screen, duct and hood

The short answerFind your dryer's model number

When reading
is not enough.