No matter what manufacturer or model you buy, even the best tumble dryers on the market won’t work as they should if you don’t carry out regular maintenance checks on them. Yet, don’t be misinformed, these checks aren’t hard and they’re very quick to do.
That’s why we have put together our guide to tumble dryers cleaning and maintenance, to help you ensure that your machine is safe and efficient.
Though, if you are to find yourself in the market for a new tumble dryer together, don’t make the mistake of buying from an unreputable retailer. Make sure to buy your new appliance from a trustworthy stockist, such as Appliance World, leading supplier of Tumble Dryers in Manchester.
Clean Out The Lint Filter After Every Use
All of the fluff and dust that comes off your clothes during the drying cycle end up in the lint filter, which is located in or around your dryer’s door.
Ensuring that the lint filter is clean is vital, because a clogged filter will restrict the flow of air and in turn, make drying less efficient.
What’s more, a restriction of air flow can also cause the dryer to heat up. Where all tumble dryers are built with thermal cut-offs to stop the machine from producing any more heat when it’s too hot, yet if the fail-safe fails, they can catch fire.
So, it’s important to keep your dryer both safe and efficient, by cleaning out the filter every time.
Empty the Water Tank After Each Use
To make your life much easier, make sure to empty the water tank every time you use your heat-pump or condenser dryer.
A water tank on a tumble dryer can hold just over one load of water, but cannot hold two. So, to ensure that you can successfully run a full drying cycle without having to stop and empty the tank, make it routine to empty the tank every time you use the machine.
Though, if you have a machine that drains water away as it dries, this isn’t something you have to worry about!
Make Sure the Heat Exchanger is Clean
The job of the heat exchanger in your tumble dryer is to turn the steam in the drum back into water. Yet, as steam passes through it, fibres can cause it to over time become clogged and dirty.
Having a clogged-up heat exchanger will make the flow of air through your machine much slower and therefore it will become less efficient. All you need to do to make sure it is clean is remove it and run it under the tap every so often.
If you own a condenser tumble dryer, then your heat exchanger will be located at the front of the machine. Remove the condenser, remove big lumps of fluff by hand and then run it under the tap to get rid of the rest.
Check That the Hose isn’t Kinked
If you own a vented tumble dryer, then it is important to make sure that the hose isn’t bent or kinked.
The job of the hose is to take warm and damp air away from the drum, yet a bent or kinked hose can restrict airflow and make your machine less efficient. This will in turn make drying a much longer process.
Check the Wall Vent
If you have a vented tumble dryer, then making sure that the wall vent is clear of fluff is also important.
Clean Inside the Drum and the Drying Sensor
Believe it or not, it is also important to clean inside the drum of your tumble dryer. This is because dirt and fabric can collect inside the drum and become embedded in the fabric of your light coloured clothes.
It’s also important to clean the drying sensor. These are two strips of metal, found in the drum below the door opening, which detect moisture and switch the dryer off when clothes are dry.
A dirty sensor will lead to inaccurate drying and your clothes being too wet or over-dried.
Simply clean the sensor and drum with a cloth and white vinegar, or a cleaning wipe.
