Hey Guys,
Any thoughts on this one? My late 1980’s electric dryer has been leaving the clothes dried in it smelling like they’ve had lighter fluid sprayed on them.
I know it’s not actually lighter fluid since I’ve never put anything flammable in the dryer. But, I’m concerned about what it might be.
I’ve checked the following so far:
Lint Trap which is clean
Voltage at the outlet which is fine.
Vent to the outside of my house, which is also fine.
Connection to the the vent via flex al ducting, seems okay but I’m think this might be part of the problem. (The flex ducting is not inside the wall)
I’m thinking that unless it really is just the ducting, it will be cheaper to buy a new dryer…
THanks!
Patrick
Edited 3/22/2006 4:27 pm ET by Corrib
Replies
Hey Corrib, are you sure it's not ozone from static?
I can't smell it from here but that's one idea that sparks to mind. ;-)
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I had a buddy who might have been prone to washing a Zippo, but he didn't smoke, one never knows though.. ;)Seriously though, I hadn't thought of the smell being ozone. I wonder how one might reduce the static electricity in a dryer?As an additional update, I just finished a bar project in my basement (where the dryer is, although a long ways away), where I used some oil based Minwax products. I'm wondering if this might be contributing to the problem too.Thanks for input guys!Patrick
Edited 3/22/2006 5:02 pm ET by Corrib
As an additional update, I just finished a bar project in my basement (where the dryer is, although a long ways away), where I used some oil based Minwax products. I'm wondering if this might be contributing to the problem too.
This would be my bet. The fumes from the finishing could be burning off with the heat of the dryer. You might try a load with no heat, just air if possible.
Flex pipe has alot of ridges that catch quite a bit of latent lint. You might want to replace the flex with rigid.
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Edited 3/22/2006 5:32 pm ET by calvin
Someone accidently ran a zippo through the dryer and neglected to mention it?
"Oh, this is the worst-looking hat I ever saw. What, when you buy a hat like this I bet you get a free bowl of soup, huh? Oh, it looks good on you though."
Have you cleaned the dryer and the washer thoroughly? If I recall correctly, we had something similar, it involved bubble gum or something left in some clothes...have you ruled out the washer (ie, put some clean dry clothes into the dryer, see if they smell), and tried changing your laundry soap and anti=static whatever, if you use it?
Pull the lower and the back panels off the dryer and put the vac to work. 20 years of use has a way of accumulating a bunch of dust and lint in the inner workings and around the heating elements and motor.
Also, check the condition of the drive belt and idler pulley. That big rubber band could be on its last legs.
Working on locomotives, my work clothes get filthy with oil, grease, etc. Although washed, they were leaving something in the dryer that caused an odor. I scrubbed the inside of the dryer drum with chlorine cleanser and now simply dry the work clothes on the line. Problem never returned.
This is a long shot but maybe there is something under the fins in the dryer's drum.
It happened to me once and almost drove me nuts. We started getting red streaks on clothes on every load in the dryer. I finally called the manufacturer out of desparation and they suggested removing the fins and looking under them - sure enough, there was a big glob of red wax under one of the fins. Apparently a crayon had got in, melted, and got under the fins. Every time it got to temp, a little wax would run out into the drum.
BTW, as I recall you have to take the drum out to get to the screws on the fins - not fun. Good luck ... Bill.