All household appliances work hard and make our lives easier by taking care of some of the mundane tasks that would have taken hours to do prior to the invention of the appliance. The dryer is one of those appliances. It works hard drying clothing that would have taken much longer to dry if it had not been given the chance to be exposed to heat.
Sometimes a dryer might start to smell after many hours of use. It’s that similar stuffy smell that one gets when there is too much moisture or mold growing inside a washing machine. The stuffy smell that comes from a dryer isn’t as common as the stuffy smell one would get from a washing machine. Still it does happen and it’s caused when the clothing has been left in the dryer for a long enough time that the moisture causes mold to grow on the lint.
The smell is generally not overpowering but it has a tendency to get into the fibers of anything else that is dried in the machine. It’s important to take care of any stuffy smell coming from the dryer because it’ll cause more of a problem the longer it’s left.
You always have the option to call a local appliance repair service to take care of the smelly dryer or moldy lint. If you select a reputable company, you’ll get fast and efficient appliance repair services. Many companies offer same day appliance service repair or examination. Rates vary from economical to on the high end. Whatever the rate, a reputable appliance repair company in San Diego County, will let you know up front what the rate you’ll be paying will be to have the technician walk through your door, as well as the hourly rate after that.
For smaller problems, you can fix the issue if you have the time and a little patience. Often with the case of a stuffy smell coming from your dryer or the moldy lint that is causing the smell, you’ll be able to take care of the problem yourself. Since the problem of the odor is likely coming from moldy lint, the easiest solution is to clean your dryer lint screen. Remove the lint screen from your dryer, take off the collection of old lint and wash the screen with a combination of a small amount of dish soap, vinegar and water. Completely towel-dry the screen and then let it air dry to make sure all the moisture evaporates.
It’s important to remove all the smelly lint so the next step you’ll need to take is to remove as much additional lint as possible. Use a vacuum cleaner to vacuum the opening of the lint screen to remove any hard to reach dust. Another option is to use compressed air to blow away any lint. If you do this, you’ll still need to remove the lint since compressed air will only take it out of the hard to reach areas.
Another step you can take to remove the moldy smell from your dryer is to clean the interior dryer drum with a mix of one cup of bleach to one gallon of water. Completely air dry and wipe the surface again with plain water to remove any bleach residue. Make sure the drum is completely dry before putting in another load.
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