Why is my dryer taking so long to dry?

How a dryer actually dries

A dryer heats air, pushes it through the clothes and sends the wet air out through the vent. If that air cannot leave, the drum fills with warm, damp air and the clothes stop drying, however long the cycle runs.

That is why a slow dryer is so often a vent problem rather than a broken dryer. The heat is there. The airflow is not.

You can often tell from the laundry itself. Towels that come out warm but damp, a dryer that feels hot on the outside, or a laundry room that gets humid during a load all point the same way: the air is staying inside.

The usual causes, most likely first

• Lint in the vent. Some lint gets past the screen every load and settles along the duct, especially at turns and low points. Over months it narrows the duct until the air barely moves.
• A crushed or kinked hose. The short flexible duct behind the dryer gets squashed when the dryer is pushed back against the wall. One sharp bend can cut the airflow badly.
• A stuck outside flap. The vent cover outside can stick shut with lint, paint or a nest, so the air has to force its way out.
• A clogged lint screen. Dryer sheets can leave a film on the screen that blocks air even when it looks clean. Wash it with warm soapy water and let it dry.
• Too much in the drum. A packed drum leaves no room for air to move through the clothes. Try a smaller load before blaming the vent.
• A dryer fault. If the vent and the screen are clear and the drum is not overloaded, the heating element or a sensor may be the cause. That is a job for an appliance repair technician. We clean vents and do not repair dryers.

What you can check yourself

These take about ten minutes and need no tools. Unplug the dryer before you move it, and on a gas dryer take care not to strain the gas line.

1. Pull out the lint screen, clean it, then hold it under the tap. If water pools on it instead of running through, wash it.
2. Pull the dryer forward a little and look at the hose behind it. Straighten any kink or crush, and make sure it is still connected at both ends.
3. Go outside while the dryer runs and hold your hand near the vent opening. You should feel a strong, warm flow and see the flap open.
4. Run a normal load and time it. If it still needs more than one cycle, the duct itself is the likely problem.

If the flow outside is weak or you feel nothing at all, stop there. Pushing a brush in from the outside can pack the lint tighter instead of clearing it.

Why it is worth fixing soon

A slow dryer costs you time and electricity on every load, because it runs longer to do the same work. It also runs hotter than it should, which is hard on the dryer itself.

Lint also burns easily, so a duct packed with it is a fire risk as well as a slow one. Clearing it is a small job compared with replacing a dryer that has worked too hard for too long.

A vent rarely clogs overnight. It narrows a little with every load, so the slowdown creeps up and is easy to get used to. If you have started running a second cycle out of habit, that is the sign.

What a cleaning fixes

A cleaning clears the full vent run, end to end, and the outside vent. We measure airflow before and after with the dryer running, so you can see the difference in numbers, and you get a written report before we leave.

If we find a crushed hose behind the dryer, it goes on the report, and a Transition Duct replacement is $50 where one is needed.

Basic is $150 and Premium is $250 for the whole vent run, whatever its length, and condo and high-rise units add $100, the condo and high-rise surcharge. Premium also deep cleans inside the dryer around the motor, which helps an older dryer that has never had it.

Booking a cleaning in Boca Raton

If your dryer has started taking two cycles, book a cleaning online and choose an arrival window. A visit takes about 45 minutes. Not sure it is due yet? Here is how often Florida homes should clean their dryer vents.

We clean dryer vents across Boca Raton and the nearby cities, in houses, townhouses and condos.

When you book, tell us how long a load has been taking. We compare it with the airflow readings on the day, so you know whether the vent was the whole problem.

Common questions