Dryer Repair
More than half the dryers we are called to are not broken machines at all. They are blocked ducts.
Loads taking three cycles, drums turning without heat, thermal cut-outs that keep going and burning smells, with the vent run measured before any part is quoted.
The duct is part of the appliance, whatever the manual says
A dryer is only as good as the path its air takes to the outside. Long runs, crushed flexible hose, too many bends and a flap that no longer opens all produce exactly the complaint owners bring us as a broken machine.
So airflow gets measured at the vent before a price is quoted. Sometimes the invoice is a duct clean and nothing else, and that is a better outcome for you than a new element.
Heat pump and condenser machines
These do not vent outside and are a genuinely different appliance. They dry at a lower temperature over a longer cycle, and the things that go wrong are the condenser block, the drain pump and the sensors, not an element.
Owners moving over from a vented machine often report a heat pump dryer as broken when it is simply behaving as designed. We would rather explain that than sell a repair.
Gas dryers and what we will not do
A gas dryer is a combustion appliance. The igniter, the coils and the flame sensor are ordinary service items and we work on them routinely. Anything upstream of the appliance connection is a licensed gas fitter question and we say so rather than improvising.
That line is drawn on purpose. It is also why a gas dryer appointment is booked with more time than an electric one.
Where this work is available
We carry out dryer repair in every one of the 31 cities we serve across California, Florida, Illinois, and New York. Those cities are Pasadena, Burbank, Fullerton, Orange, Westminster, Inglewood, Culver City, Manhattan Beach, Santa Monica, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Coral Gables, Doral, Hialeah, Homestead, North Miami, North Miami Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Aventura, Sunny Isles Beach, Aurora, Cicero, Evanston, Schaumburg, Skokie, Downers Grove, Orland Park, Yonkers, Staten Island, Hempstead, and Garden City. The price, the warranty, and the arrival window are identical in all of them, weekends included, and there is no travel charge within the ZIP codes listed on each city page.
Book a dryer repair
Choose the day and the part of the day. Your two hour window is confirmed straight afterwards.
What the price includes
- The appliance read and metered before a number is given
- Parts and labor quoted as a single figure
- Thirty days on our labor, printed on the invoice
- Everything left level, reconnected and running
The dryer calls we take most
Loads taking three cycles, drums turning without heat, thermal cut-outs that keep going and burning smells, with the vent run measured before any part is quoted.
The drum turns but nothing gets hot
On an electric machine it is the heating element or the thermal cut-out that protects it, and both are simple to read with a meter. On gas it is the igniter or the flame sensor. Either way this is one of the few complaints where a minute with a meter gives a definite answer rather than an opinion.
Clothes take three cycles to dry
In more than half these visits the appliance is working correctly and the duct is not. We measure airflow at the outside vent before quoting anything, because replacing a perfectly good element on a blocked duct fixes nothing and the customer is entitled to be angry about it.
A squeal or a rumble that builds as it warms up
Drum rollers, the idler pulley or the rear bearing. All three are inexpensive parts and all three, left long enough, take the belt with them and sometimes the drum. This is the repair most worth doing early.
The machine stops after a few minutes every time
A thermal cut-out is doing its job. Something is making the cabinet hotter than it should be, and nine times in ten that something is restricted airflow rather than a defective part. Replacing the cut-out without finding the restriction just moves the shutdown a week down the road.
The drum will not turn at all
Usually a snapped belt, which is a cheap part and a straightforward job. Where the belt is intact, the motor or its start capacitor is next, and the difference is a reading rather than a guess.
A burning smell during a cycle
Stop using it and call. This is the one complaint on this page that should not wait for a convenient appointment. It is normally lint that has found its way somewhere hot, and it is dealt with the same day wherever we can get to you.
Which brands this applies to
The manufacturers on our list that build this appliance type. Each has a page of its own setting out how that badge behaves and what tends to go on it.
What happens on a dryer call
More than half the dryers we are called to are not broken machines at all, they are blocked ducts, so the vent run gets measured before anything is priced.
- A two hour window, and clear access to the back of the machine
- Airflow measured at the outside vent rather than guessed at
- Anything unsafe in the duct run reported to you plainly
- Thirty days of warranty on the labor we carry out
Dryer Repair across four states
Identical terms in all thirty-one cities below: the same price, the same warranty, the same arrival window.
- Pasadena, CA
- Burbank, CA
- Fullerton, CA
- Orange, CA
- Westminster, CA
- Inglewood, CA
- Culver City, CA
- Manhattan Beach, CA
- Santa Monica, CA
- West Palm Beach, FL
- Boca Raton, FL
- Coral Gables, FL
- Doral, FL
- Hialeah, FL
- Homestead, FL
- North Miami, FL
- North Miami Beach, FL
- Palm Beach Gardens, FL
- Aventura, FL
- Sunny Isles Beach, FL
- Aurora, IL
- Cicero, IL
- Evanston, IL
- Schaumburg, IL
- Skokie, IL
- Downers Grove, IL
- Orland Park, IL
- Yonkers, NY
- Staten Island, NY
- Hempstead, NY
- Garden City, NY
dryer questions we are asked
How often does the vent actually need clearing?
Once a year for most households, and twice for a large family or a long duct run. It is the single most neglected thing in this trade and the cause of more than half the dryer calls we take. A clear duct also drops the running cost noticeably, because the machine stops fighting its own exhaust.
Should I be buying a heat pump dryer?
If the room has no outside wall, it solves a real problem. Running costs are considerably lower and the lower drying temperature is gentler on clothes. The trade is a longer cycle and a more expensive machine to repair when it eventually needs it, because a condenser block and a drain pump cost more than an element. Worth it for many households; not automatically worth it for all of them.
Can you work on a stacked pair without taking the kitchen apart?
Yes. Stacked laundry is ordinary work and the appointment is booked with the time to separate and reassemble it properly. Nothing is forced, and both machines get checked while they are apart.