How To Troubleshoot a Noisy Dryer

Introduction

After a tiring work week, the last thing you want on your hands is a noisy dryer. If your dryer is broken, piles of clothes would just stay there in the laundry basket and ruin your weekend. To get your dryer fixed you can hire a professional by searching for “dryer repair near me”. However, you can try the following methods to troubleshoot the problem. 

The Details

1. Drum Roller – Your dryer has numerous rollers at the front and at the back to support the drum. These rollers are mechanical parts that are under a lot of friction and bear the weight of the dryer along with the clothes every time you use the dryer. Over the years, these rollers may get worn out and prevent the drum from spinning smoothly. When your dryer is running check for a thumping or squealing noise. It indicates that one or numerous drum rollers have broken or worn out. 

When drum rollers break down, they need to be replaced. Disconnect your dryer from the wall and open the dryer cabinet. Carefully remove the drum and inspect the drum rollers for wear and damage. You can check with your manufacturer for a compatible set of drum rollers and get them replaced or call a technician for the job. 

2. Drive Belt – Both electric and gas dryers have a drive belt to rotate the drum. This belt is usually thin and long and completely wraps around the drum. It further makes its way over the tension pulley that is connected to the drive motor to make a loop. The motor drives the pulley and rotates the drum with the help of the belt. Over several years the drive belt gets frayed, worn out, and becomes unusable. 

If your dryer drum makes a lot of thumping noise, it may be due to a worn-out drive belt. You need to open up the dryer and visually inspect the belt. If it is damaged and worn out you can order a new replacement belt. Sometimes you also need to lube up the pulley when you’re replacing the drive belt. Make sure that you use the lubricant specified by the manufacturer to avoid problems in the future.    

3. Drum Roller Axle – The drum rollers are held by a shaft at the front and the rear end. These shafts are called axles. Along with the rollers, the axles can also get worn out with time and create an annoying rumbling noise. You need to remove the drive belt and turn the drum by hand to make sure that the axles are broken. If it makes creaking noises, all the axles need to be replaced since they come in sets. 

4. Drum Bearing – A few manufacturers design their dryers with a bearing to support the drum at the back. This takes some load off the rollers and makes them last longer. The bearing may be set up like a shaft with sleeve bushing, a ball and socket, or something else. Your dryer will create squeaky noises when the bearing is worn out. To verify if the problem lies with the bearing, turn the drum by hand after removing the drive belt. The bearing needs to be replaced if it makes a grinding noise while the drum spins.  

5. Blower Wheel – A blower wheel is an essential component of both gas and electric dryers. The blower wheel pushes air from the heating chamber through the drum and out the exhaust. However, if small pieces of fabric, lint, and other debris get past the lint filter and get stuck in the blower wheel it will create a loud noise. 

The blower wheel can also make a lot of noise if it comes loose from the shaft or the clamp that’s supposed to hold it in a stable and fixed position. Otherwise, it’s usually a worn-out blower wheel that’s not spinning properly and creating noise. To solve this problem, you need to remove the dryer vent and check the airflow. If there’s weak airflow, it’s highly likely that there’s something wrong with the blower wheel. 

Start by cleaning the lint filter and checking if anything is stuck in the blower wheel. If there’s something stuck in the blower wheel you can disassemble it and clean it up. If it’s loose from the clamp or shaft you can tighten it up. Otherwise, you need to replace the worn-out blower wheel to get rid of the noise.  

6. Idler Pulley – The idler pulley provides tension to the drum belt so that it doesn’t slip off when the dryer is loaded. However, if you tend to overload your dryer often, the belt has to endure enhanced friction which makes the idler pulley worn out quicker due to increased speed. When that happens, you’ll hear a loud scraping noise. This also wears out the drive belt. That’s why you should never overload the dryer. To fix this problem you need to replace the wobbly or worn-out idler pulley and may even need to replace the drive belt if it’s scraped extensively.  

7. Drive Motor – The drive motor is responsible for turning the drum and the blower. If you hear a rattling noise, a high-pitched noise, or even a humming noise from your dryer it’s usually something wrong with the drive motor. The drive motor itself is a complex component that may have worn out contact brushes, damaged bearings, or something else. Unlike other components mentioned above, you need a lot of technical expertise to figure out what’s wrong with the drive motor. That’s why it’s best to hire a certified technician for this job and get the motor repaired or replaced. 

Conclusion

As you can see, a noisy dryer may be caused due to a multitude of reasons. Anything from the drive belt or drum roller to the drum bearing or blower wheel might need a fix. If you aren’t confident with the fix, it’s best to hire a professional for the job by searching for “dryer repair near me”.