What Are the Causes of Electrical Shorts in a Dryer?

There is nothing worse than waking up late for a meeting, rushing to get a shower and taking care of the morning rituals to find that the most important outfit for this meeting is lying in the dryer still soaking wet. Many times this is caused by an electrical short in the dryer. Not only can an electrical short become a damper in the daily activities, these shorts present a dangerous hazard that could result in more damage than just a broken dryer.

All too often, with less than enough hours in the day, a simple task as cleaning the lint trap can escape the mind. If this has been forgotten for numerous hours of drying loads and loads of laundry, the excess lint has nowhere to go but to the ventilation ducting. Once this build up of lint has accumulated in the ventilation ducting, there is a massive overload of heat that can cause the dryer to short out or, even worse, catch fire. Cleaning the lint trap after every use can help eliminate this problem.

Depending on the age of a home and its wiring, problems can arise from the home circuit breaker or fuse box. When using a dryer, there are certain factors to take into account. Make sure the house is equipped to handle the voltage of the dryer. A lot of older homes used 60-amp fuse boxes and do not have much of a fighting chance for today's technology and appliances. Most dryers are 220 volt and can cause an older wiring system to trip the circuit breaker. A dryer will not work properly unless the wiring is sufficient to handle the voltage. The best solution for this problem is to completely rewire your home with a new 200 amp fuse system. It is highly recommended to contact a certified electrician to fix this problem.

There is a lot of motion constantly happening as a dryer is in use. This motion can cause even the strongest screws and wires to work loose. When these wires or screws move from their original fixture, they can cause certain circuits to cross and therefore short out. Sometimes the ground wire that goes to the power plug may come loose and cause the dryer to short out. Also, there may be a chance that the entire power cord to the dryer has gone bad and needs replacing. Additionally, the terminal block may need to be replaced. Many of these repairs can be done at home, but it is always good to consult a certified electrician or dryer repair technician.