Why Does My Dryer Take Too Long To Dry?

How does the dryer work?

A lot of the dryers now come with a sensor called a thermistor or wetness sensor that detects how wet your clothes are. They work on a very basic principle of having two low electric contacts exposed on the inside of your drum. When wet clothes are circulating inside the unit, they short out the sensor and give the machine reading in Ohms. This is the way the unit determines how wet your clothes are.

The most common reason the dryer takes too long to dry clothes

One day you may notice that your dryer changes time itself and takes too long to dry clothes. The reason is quite simple. The clothes in your dryer are still wet, and the machine knows that and keeps adding time to your cycle to make sure that clothes will come out dry.

In fact, it can shorten the cycle as well, as soon as it knows that clothes are already dry. That is why running blankets or towels will usually take much more time, simply because the material is bigger.

Can I disable this option?

Yes, you can! On the dial knob, there is an option between sensed dry and timed dry. If you choose the timed option, you are able to set your own time, and the machine will work exactly for the period you have set manually. Usually, the unit does not have power-saving mode and works with full power on the timed dry mode which is recommended if you want things to get done fast.

Timed dry still does not work?

You may have an issue with one of the inner components or clogged vents in your dryer. What could be a problem? It’s very easy to determine, just run the unit for 5-10 minutes and open the door. If there is no heat (the machine does not have proper venting, it will turn off heating without any warning for safety reasons) then you need to call an expert.

But if the dryer makes heat it’s great news! Most likely, your vents are just clogged with lint and require cleaning. Disconnect the back vent hose from your unit and clean everything inside of the external and internal vent.