Do you use fabric softener sheets in your dryer? Every once in awhile, take your lint trap and wash it in hot water and dry. Dryer sheets can clog your lint trap. To see if your lint trap is getting clogged, just run water through it. If it doesn't run through and the water sits in the trap, wash it with hot water.
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What? If the lint trap is clogged when I pull it out, I will see a dryer sheet and remove it. I do not need to test to see if it is clogged. If you are talking about the part of the dryer I pull it out of, dumping water in there is insane. This does not compute.
Editor's Note: This tip is talking about buildup on the lint screen, the removable part of the dryer where the lint collects.
I got this tip from my washer/dryer repairman. He told me to take the lint screen out and take it to the sink. He said to run warm water over it and notice how the water pools on the screen instead of running through. This is caused by the chemicals on the dryer sheets we all use. He told me to squirt some dish soap on it, then take a scrub brush (I found a great one at the dollar store and keep it next to the sink to use for many kitchen duties, including dishes) and scrub the screen on both sides. Then rinse thoroughly and wipe dry.
You can test to see if it's gotten clean by simply running water over it again. The water should run straight through now. This only takes a couple of minutes to do and is so easy. And no cost other than less than a penny's worth of dish soap! He told me to do this every six months but I find if I do it weekly it's much better. But he told me this will not only make my clothes dry faster, thereby lowering my electric bill, but it will also make my dryer last years longer.
So far it's lasted over 13 years with no problems.
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