People are often a little confused when they notice that their dryer is leaking, but leakage can indeed occur if certain things go wrong within the machine. Unfortunately, the moisture that is created by those leakages can provide an ideal breeding ground for mould and mildew, or even create water damage to your home.
Here are four causes of a leaking dryer.
1. Clogged Vent or Exhaust
A dryer needs to release hot air from the drum. This hot air contains the moisture that is removed from your laundry. Unfortunately, this moisture carries a small amount of lint, and the two can form together into a paste that will block the airflow in your exhaust system. The hot air will eventually be unable to escape, so moisture will have nowhere to go. It will then condense and possibly cause a leak. Blockages often occur over the exhaust vent, which can be cleaned with a rough brush, though they can also form within the system itself.
2. Overlong Exhaust
It might seem as if a longer exhaust system would be best for removing the hot air and moisture from your machine, but this is not the case. In fact, a shorter length is far better since air will have to cover less distance in order to escape the machine. If your exhaust system is quite long, it's often hard for all the moisture to be expelled; if this cannot be corrected due to your machine's location, try installing a fan system.
3. Broken Flapper
You might also find that your exhaust system's flapper has broken. These small components serve an important function; they open the exhaust system up to let the inside air out, but then remain firmly shut at all other times. If your flapper isn't up to scratch, you might find that it lets in rain, snow, or frost from outside.
4. Cracks and Holes
Finally, some leaks are simply caused by small holes or cracks in the vent. It might sound like an obvious thing to check, but these defects are often hard to see, so it's well worth getting down on your hands and knees to have a closer look. Luckily, these cracks and holes will be relatively cheap to fix.
If you do find that your dryer is leaking, make sure you unplug it and stop using it until the problem has been sorted. If you can't correct the issue yourself, make sure you call up a professional appliance repair.
Share24 March 2016
If you are working on a big project for your home, your business or an investment property, you may need to do some electrical work or hire an electrician during that process. If so, I want to help you with my blog full of tips and ideas. Hi, my name is Katie, and I was briefly an electrician before I left to start a design company. However, I still harbour an interest in electrical work, and because of that, I was inspired to create this blog. If you have questions about electricity, please explore my blog posts. If they help you, share them with your friends. Thank you!
