Dryer repair · Tulsa, OK
Squealing, thumping, scraping or a loose rattle: each sound points to a different part. Caught early, it’s usually a small part, not a new dryer.
Before you call
Smell gas? Don’t touch any switches. Leave the house and call your gas company from outside. A burning-rubber smell with the noise means switch it off: a seized pulley or roller can burn through the belt.
What usually causes it
The idler pulley keeps tension on the drive belt and spins the whole time the dryer runs. When its bearing wears, you get a high squeal or chirp that starts with the drum, and it often grows louder over a few weeks.
Colby replaces the pulley and checks the belt it rides on for wear.
Many dryers carry the back of the drum on small rubber rollers. Worn rollers develop flat spots and thump once a turn, or squeak as their shafts dry out.
He replaces the rollers as a set so the drum turns evenly again.
On other designs the front of the drum slides on plastic glides or a felt strip. Once those wear through, metal rubs on metal and you hear a scrape, and clothes can come out with dark marks or snags.
He fits new glides and seals so the drum rides on them, not on bare metal.
A cracked or frayed belt slaps as it goes round, and a stretched one can slip and squeal under a heavy load. Left alone, it snaps and the drum stops.
He checks the belt along its whole length while the dryer is open.
A low grind or roar that doesn’t follow the drum often comes from the motor’s bearings or from the blower wheel that pulls air through the dryer. A loose or cracked blower wheel can rattle as well.
Colby runs the motor and the blower on their own to find which one is worn, then replaces it.
Questions
AFor a short while, maybe, but the noise rarely goes away by itself. A pulley or roller that seizes can melt or snap the belt, and then you have a drum that won’t turn at all.
AA soft click and a quiet whoosh a few times during each load are normal. That’s the gas valve opening and the burner lighting as the dryer holds its temperature.
AWorn bearings and rollers are often noisiest cold and quieter once they warm up. That’s an early warning, and a good time to call before the part fails outright.
AYes. There’s a diagnostic fee for the visit, and if you have Colby do the repair, the diagnostic fee is waived.
AMost appointments are within 48 hours, many within 24, and often the same day. Call or text and Colby will give you the soonest time he has.
Rather type it out?
Tell us what's wrong and how to reach you. Colby will call or text you back.
