A two-minute test

Dryer Takes Too Long to Dry? Check the Vent First

When a load that used to take one cycle starts taking two, the dryer usually gets the blame. Before paying for a repair call or a new machine, spend two minutes at the outside hood.

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Do this first

The Test at the Outside Hood

Start the dryer on a heated cycle with a load in it.
Go outside to where the vent exits. If you do not know where that is, the roof and long vents page explains how to find it.
Hold your hand a few inches from the hood. You should feel a firm, warm stream of air, and the flap should be pushed well open.
A weak puff, a flap that barely lifts, or lint packed around the opening points to the vent.

Strong airflow, slow drying: the problem is in the dryer. Call an appliance repair company.

Weak airflow: the problem is in the vent. That is a cleaning, and it is the cheaper of the two.

Three things you can check yourself

Before You Book Anything

The lint screen

Clean it before every load. If water pools on the mesh when you hold it under a tap, residue from dryer sheets has coated it; wash it with a soft brush and dish soap.

The connector behind the machine

Pull the dryer forward and look. A flexible connector that has been flattened against the wall chokes the airflow no matter how clean the rest of the vent is. Straighten it or have it replaced.

The outside flap

A flap stuck shut with lint, paint or a nest stops everything behind it. If you can reach it safely from the ground, free it. If it is on the roof, leave it.

If it is the vent

What Comes Next

If the screen is clean, the connector is open and the airflow outside is still weak, the blockage is in the part of the vent you cannot see. That is the job described on the dryer vent cleaning page. A dryer that smells hot or scorched should be left off until it has been looked at.

Slow Dryer Questions

Why does my dryer take two cycles to dry?

Most often because damp air cannot get out. A dryer dries by moving air through the drum and out the vent; when the vent is restricted, the air stays wet and the clothes do too.

The dryer is new and still slow. Is it the vent?

Very likely. A new machine on an old, partly blocked vent behaves the same way the old machine did.

What if the airflow outside is strong and loads are still slow?

Then the vent is probably not the cause, and the dryer itself needs an appliance repair technician.

Weak Air at the Hood?

Say how long loads are taking and where the vent exits. The contractor quotes the cleaning.

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