We all have them in the house – appliances. And sooner or later they’re going to break. It’s the nature of the beast because they endure nothing but work: washing your clothes, keeping your food cold/frozen, drying your clothes, and cleaning your dishes. It’s a thankless job really.
At first you barely notice that your clothes are taking longer to dry. Then one day the dryer fails to heat up at all. A decision must be made – do you call someone to fix it, attempt to fix it yourself, or go out and buy a replacement?
I prefer to attempt to fix it first before entertaining any other options. Now, there’s many respected appliance repair businesses out there if you’re not much for getting your hands dirty but, if you’re even just a little handy and don’t mind “getting in there”, you can not only do many repairs for a fraction the cost, but walk away with a sense of accomplishment.
I’ve been… ummm… lucky (?) to have gone through a few appliance repairs since becoming a home owner. The latest repair was on our gas dryer. It started with our clothes not coming out entirely dry after a full cycle. Sometimes they would dry just fine, but then there would be a load which would come out still wet. This is where YouTube and the internet becomes your friend. It can be as simple as typing in the search terms “gas dryer clothes won’t dry” and finding plenty of sites ready to help you troubleshoot and identify your problem, as well as show you how to fix it. How cool is that? The best part is you’ll be able to gauge whether it’s a repair you’re up for doing yourself. But don’t be afraid – parts in appliances like dryers and washers can be really simple to replace.
After going through some troubleshooting, I was able to determine the flame sensor was failing. I found a nice walk-through on the internet to test the sensor using a multimeter. It was really simple – by connecting the multimeter to connections on the sensor I was able to determine there was no continuity, causing the sensor to fail.
Once I knew what the issue was and the part I needed, I went to Appliance Parts Pros. I like this site because their prices are reasonable and they have a 365 day return policy which really came in handy when we mistakenly ordered the wrong part for our refrigerator’s water dispenser. Using my dryer’s model and serial number I found the part number I needed pretty quickly. It may be a good idea to drop the part number in Amazon as well to compare prices. While Appliance Parts Pros has been cheaper on most parts I’ve ordered, it isn’t always.
After I received the part it literally took me 20 minutes to take the dryer apart and replace the flame sensor. Right away, the dryer started working as it should which was a huge relief since we weren’t keen on the idea of having to buy a new one. Plus it felt great to get things working again without spending hundreds of dollars.
