Dryer Repair near you

Health Canada warns that lint left in a dryer's screen and exhaust piping can ignite at high temperatures. Toronto Fire Services advises cleaning the lint screen after each load, regularly removing lint from metal ducts and exhaust vents, and cleaning the inside of the dryer cabinet as the manufacturer instructs. It also advises turning the dryer off when you leave home or go to bed.

Lint that escapes the screen also settles inside the cabinet, around the element or burner and the motor. Cleaning in there means opening panels with the power disconnected, and the gas shut off on a gas model, so it's a job for the technician during a service visit. At home, watch for these signs that the vent itself is restricted.

Toronto Fire Services recommends rigid or flexible metal ducting to vent a dryer outdoors, and notes that plastic or metal foil ducts are more prone to kinking, sagging and crushing, which leads to lint build-up. It also advises the straightest, most direct path outdoors, since lint accumulates in bends and elbows.

How long the run can be depends on the dryer. Manufacturers set a maximum length in the installation instructions and reduce it for each elbow, so a laundry room on an interior wall, or a condo unit with a long shared run, needs extra care in planning.

On an electric dryer, an appliance technician replaces elements, thermostats, fuses, belts and switches. The dedicated circuit, the breaker and the wall outlet are electrical work for a licensed electrician.

A gas dryer adds regulated gas work: the burner, the gas valve, the connector to the supply line, and any conversion between natural gas and propane. Moving a gas dryer to clean behind it also means disconnecting and reconnecting gas. In Quebec, the RBQ requires contractors who do gas work to hold the appropriate licence, and their workers need a certificate of competence from Emploi-Québec. In Ontario, TSSA states that only registered fuels contractors are legally authorized to do fuels-related work, and its online registry lets you check a company. Other provinces have their own gas safety authorities.

If you smell gas near the dryer, don't operate switches or appliances. Get everyone outside and call your gas utility or 911 from there.

A gas dryer sends combustion gases out through its vent, so a blocked or disconnected duct can let carbon monoxide into the house. Health Canada advises inspecting exhaust vents, including the dryer's, during and after snowstorms to make sure ice, snow or debris isn't blocking them. It also advises regularly examining propane and natural gas appliances for leaks, cracks, blocked vents and improper installation, and having fuel-burning appliances inspected by a professional at least once a year or as the manufacturer instructs.

Health Canada says the most important place for a carbon monoxide alarm is in hallways outside sleeping areas, and notes that alarms with a Canadian certification mark have been tested by laboratory professionals. If the alarm sounds, get everyone outside and call 911 from there.

Belts, rollers, idler pulleys, thermal fuses, elements, igniters, thermostats and door switches are routine dryer repairs, and a dryer with a sound drum and motor is usually worth fixing. A seized motor, a damaged drum or a hard-to-find control board changes the calculation. Before replacing a dryer for slow drying, make sure the real problem isn't the vent, which a new machine would inherit.

If you do replace it, switching fuel type means new hookups: an electrician for a dedicated circuit, or a licensed gas technician to run or cap a gas line. Condensing and heat pump dryers don't need an exterior vent, which can suit a condo, but they have their own maintenance routines, so read the manual before choosing.