Woohoo I fixed the dryer

robbyr · Mar 18, 2015

The other evening the wife needed to dry some clothes but the dryer wouldn't cooperate. Wouldn't start. No noise, nothing. I'm not the most gifted mechanically speaking but decided to give it a whirl. Took the iPad in laundry room and started googling. Several hours and YouTube videos later I had it disassembled. Everything I read suggested the thermal fuse was the most common problem. Located it and the wife picked one up today for about $13. Got home this eve and put it back together and lo and behold it works. Kinda tickled about it. In 2011 our washer quit and I tried the same thing. Eventually had it torn all apart and scattered across back deck. Couldn't figure it out and the missus gave up on me and went and bought another one.

Baby Grand · Mar 18, 2015

Congratulations! That's something to take some pride in.

The other day, while driving through town on my way to work, I noticed a few appliances out on the street, waiting for the trash man to take them away. I wonder how many of them just needed a $13 part?

wngsprd · Mar 18, 2015

That's a great feeling. Congrats.

oosik · Mar 18, 2015

Its a good feeling when you successfully complete a job and have overcome technology - ha,ha.

Egon · Mar 18, 2015

A wooden drying rack and clothesline will also work. Much more reliable.

ustmd · Mar 18, 2015

robbyr said:
The other evening the wife needed to dry some clothes but the dryer wouldn't cooperate. Wouldn't start. No noise, nothing. I'm not the most gifted mechanically speaking but decided to give it a whirl. Took the iPad in laundry room and started googling. Several hours and YouTube videos later I had it disassembled. Everything I read suggested the thermal fuse was the most common problem. Located it and the wife picked one up today for about $13. Got home this eve and put it back together and lo and behold it works. Kinda tickled about it. In 2011 our washer quit and I tried the same thing. Eventually had it torn all apart and scattered across back deck. Couldn't figure it out and the missus gave up on me and went and bought another one.

Good for you. I just did the same dryer repair about 1 month ago. Repairclinic.com has some good videos, parts diagrams and quick shipping.

Gary Fowler · Mar 18, 2015

The last time I had a dryer go out, it was a Maytag Neptune and almost 10 years old. We bought it at Sears and we called their repair service. They had a warranty program going for it which they explained was $200. A service call was $100 + parts so we decided the warranty was the way to go. Good thing, because it was a $400 computer board that went out. Nothing cheap in todays appliances or autos what with all the computer control boards installed.

The Suburban Farmer · Mar 18, 2015

Not a dryer story but a washer story...

Not too long ago while I was out of town for work, my wife called and said our fancy new "high efficiency" front load washer wouldn't drain. I couldn't look at it and she had a boatload of laundry to do, so she called a repairman. He diagnosed a bad pump. She texted me the price, and I asked her to hold off until I got home.

Well, long story short, when I got home I spent about 10 minutes on Youtube and then took apart the drain line to check the strainer... there was a QUARTER stuck in there that was blocking the outflow, so I took it out, put it together and it started working good-as-new. WHAT A SCAM -- they guy wanted $150+ for the new part plus labor to "fix" something that wasn't even broken. Not only did I save money, I actually made $0.25 on the deal.

Between Youtube and forums like this, there's NO reason us homeowners should trust the first thing a repairman tells us these days. Needless to say, that particular service company received some VERY negative reviews on Angie's List and a few other sites.

chad22 · Mar 18, 2015

A few years ago. My mom got a new dryer because her old one wouldn't heat up. After tearing it apart I found out it only needed a heating element. I took one from an old dryer and had the thing going again.

/pine · Mar 18, 2015

Youtube is a godsend for DIY'ers...if a picture is worth a thousand words...a video showing exactly what you need to do on the same appliance etc...is worth a whole lot more than a service call...!

...And look honey...No parts left over..!