Fixing The Dryer

I am glad that I brought my own house. One of the joys for homeownership is having to get someone to fix or fix it yourself when something breaks or stops working. It can be a pain but, I do not miss waiting for the landlord to get someone to fix things in the cheapest way. Only sometimes having the same issue down the road. It is a pain to pay for the repairs to the house on your own but, I have the option to get someone to do a quality job and get something of better quality. 

My dryer stopped drying about over a week ago. So last Tuesday, I called the appliance repair guy.  He came the next morning and looked the dryer over and said it was most likely the heating element.  He said he would not fixed it due to the limited space in my utility room. He is a old guy so I cannot blame the man and it is hard to move around in the room.

He recommended a couple other appliance repair companies, for me to call. I looked online for a heating element and found one for less the $40. I watched a YouTube video and decided to try to fix the dryer myself. 

I got the part on Friday. Ended up having to work on Saturday, after planning to be off since it was supposed to be first shift turn to work the overtime. So, I put off starting the project to Sunday. Before I started, I made a trip to Lowe's to get a new screwdriver set. My old screwdrivers, I have had for a long time and especially the Phillips Screwdrivers do not work as good as they used to anymore.  The new Phillips Screwdriver worked great for the whole project. I lost a screw as I was taking the top and the door off the dryer so back to Lowe's to get a replacement screw and magnet to pickup screws that I drop. By the time I got done with Lowe's, it was time to pickup my mom from work. When I got home, I got busy preparing food for the Super Bowl and the dryer got pushed for another day. 

Monday was a day of getting care of business around town. Tuesday, I managed to get the rest of he dryer taking apart and got the heating element off before heading to work for the day. I replaced the heating element and thermostat when I got home from work before bed. Wednesday,  I finished putting the dryer back together. Putting the barrel back in and putting the rubber band back on the motor and pulley was not the easiest thing to do but I managed to get it on right. I got a little stuck when I tried getting up because of the limited room I had. I was laying on the floor about a foot space between the washer and dryer and the wall. I had to room the washer and dryer until I could get positioned to where I could push myself up off the floor. I got the door and top back on quickly after that.

I was happy to get the dryer all back together and not having extra parts leftover. I said a quick prayer and tested the dryer out. I was so happy when I felt heat after running the dryer for a little. I was happy it worked because I did not want to have to take the dryer apart again to get it working.

I left for work and my mom and sister washed and dried the clothes. When I got home they told me the dryer was running great and drying the clothes.  I guess it is on to the next project at the house.

I am not a mechanical person but I will work on things if I need too. It made me feel good fixing the dryer myself.