Surprise!

A day in the fast-paced, non-paying world of dryer repair.  Or, as it is known in some circles: another test of your marriage vows.  ;-)  Yes, I'm kidding - we have worked together most of our lives... we should be able to tear apart a dryer (as in: the drying unit of the washer/dryer) and still be nice.

Joan did the research.  Our dryer is making an awful grinding noise and smells like burning lint.  There are some "typical parts" that may be causing the problem.  YouTube is your friend.  Our best guess was a failed bearing.  She ordered replacement parts for the bearing, the belt, a pulley tensioner, and a couple other things.

Those parts are due to arrive on FedEx today... time to start taking this thing apart.

I have no doubt that your are thinking: "Why don't you just call an appliance repair person?"  Thanks for asking.  Not one single time have we had a satisfactory appliance repair since we've lived here.  For the record, we haven't had a lot of appliance repairs.  But the few that we have had have been: guy comes in and makes a mess taking things apart.  Not sure of the problem, but "will order the parts."  The parts will cost 4 times as much as if you buy them yourself.  No idea when he will come back with the parts, but when he does, they won't be the right part.  More waiting.  When the parts do finally come in, you will sit at home waiting for them to show up, and it will be hours after they originally told you.  The bill will be a service call, inflated repair hours, and a 4 times markup on the parts.

My first thought was: buy a new dryer.  Joan was convinced that we could fix this.  So, I watched the YouTube video, and the guy took apart a dryer, replaced the parts, and put it all back together in about 15 minutes.  I knew it was unrealistic when there was no swearing in the video.

Dryers are not generic.  Each model comes apart in its own specific way.  It took us about 45 minutes to get the top off the dryer, but we did so with no swearing or torn up skin.  The rest of the disassembly was pretty easy.  When it came time to remove the drum, the problem was glaringly apparent: the spring wire heating element had come off an insulator at the top and the spring wrapped around the ball that the dryer drum is mounted on... this could have become an electrical fire problem, but Joan caught it making noise right away.

Looking into the disassembled dryer...

Oh-oh...

There's the problem...

That wire is supposed to be curly all the way across.

No, we didn't order a heating element replacement part.  But, we did get one ordered today.  So, just like with a repair person: we are waiting on parts.  We will replace what we do have parts for, since we have this all apart.  In the meantime, we'll slide the gutted dryer back into its cabinet so we don't have to live around it... the house is small and the laundry cabinet is between the living room and the bedroom... and more importantly: the guitar room!  Oh, and a couple bathrooms.

Joan went to work on vacuuming 15 years of wayward lint before we replaced anything.  We have a bowl of screws and fasteners... I hope in two days I can remember what screw went where.  There are a few electrical connections to re-connect.  But, when all is said and done, the really important part... "You'll have a like new dryer?"  No, we did the job together while being nice to each other.  And, we learned what goes on inside a dryer when you close the door on it and press the start button.

We have a couple hours into it today; probably a couple more when the other replacement part comes in.  But, we are not charging ourselves a service call or an hourly rate.  The parts will be around $100.  No mess.  No one gouging up paint or woodwork.

I'll let you know how it all works out in the end.  And, if it doesn't go back together, we'll go washer/dryer shopping.  ;-)