Dryer repair notes
Split the fault before you talk about heat. Either the drum does not turn, or it turns and the clothes stay wet or cold. Those are different parts, and a gas dryer and an electric dryer only share the second group in part.
The drum does not turn
The belt, the idler pulley that keeps the belt tight, the drum rollers, or the motor. A broken belt leaves the drum free when you turn it by hand, with a loose slap. A seized roller or a dead motor will not let the drum move. A squeal that shows up a few minutes into the cycle is usually the idler or a roller, heard while the motor is still doing its job.
The drum turns and there is no heat
On an electric dryer the thermal fuse on the blower housing is a one-shot part. It opens after the cabinet overheats, which happens when the vent cannot move air. The heating element can be open on its own, and the cycling thermostat can fail too. A new fuse in front of a crushed vent opens again. The vent is the hose behind the dryer, the duct inside the wall, and the hood on the outside of the house. A flap stuck shut, or a nest in the hood, stops the whole run even when the lint screen looks clean.
An electric dryer can also tumble with no heat when one pole of the 240-volt breaker has tripped. The motor will run on 120 volts. The element will not.
A gas dryer heats with an igniter and the coils on the gas valve. The igniter has to glow, and it has to draw enough current to open the valve. A glow that never becomes a flame is a weak igniter. An igniter that stays dark is open, or it is not being powered because a fuse or a thermostat ahead of it is open. The gas shutoff on the wall behind the machine is easy to bump while you vacuum, so confirm it is open before the igniter is condemned. The vent rules are the same as on an electric dryer.
Clothes come out hot and still damp
The lint screen can be clean while the duct is packed. Feel the outside hood while the dryer runs. A dryer that is hot at the door and barely warm at the hood is leaving the heat in the laundry room. That is airflow, not a short cycle timer.
A thump once each turn
A roller has a flat spot, or a drum glide has worn through and the drum is rubbing the front bulkhead. A scrape that changes when you push the drum by hand is the same area. Say whether the noise is a single thump or a continuous scrape. They point at different pieces of the support.
| Symptom | Where to look | Check you can do |
|---|---|---|
| Drum will not turn | Belt, idler, rollers, motor | Turn the drum by hand and note if it spins free |
| Tumbles, no heat, electric | Thermal fuse, element, cycling thermostat, one open breaker pole | Check the breaker and the outside hood |
| Tumbles, no heat, gas | Igniter, valve coils, vent, gas shutoff | Watch whether the igniter glows and whether a flame follows |
| Hot clothes, still damp | Vent duct and the outside hood | Compare heat at the door with heat at the outdoor hood |
| Thump once per turn | Roller flat spot or worn drum glide | Say if the sound is one thump or a steady scrape |