Catch dryer problems early before a small fix turns into a full replacement.
By We Fix It Appliances | July 14, 2026 | Dryer Repair
Most dryers don't just stop working out of nowhere. They give you warning signs first — you just have to know what to look for. Catching a problem early is almost always cheaper than waiting until the dryer dies completely.
Here are the 5 signs your dryer is telling you it needs attention.
This is the most common complaint we hear — and homeowners often ignore it for months, chalking it up to "a big load." But a dryer that used to dry clothes in 45 minutes and now takes 90+ is working twice as hard and costing you twice as much in energy.
The most common causes are a clogged dryer vent, a worn felt drum seal (letting hot air escape), or a weakened heating element. All of these are straightforward repairs.
Why it matters: A restricted vent is also a fire hazard. Lint buildup in the vent line is one of the leading causes of house fires in Canada. If clothes are taking longer to dry, have the vent inspected.
Your dryer should hum quietly. If it's squealing, grinding, or thumping — that's a mechanical problem that will get worse, not better, on its own.
These parts typically cost $20–$60 each. The labour is straightforward. Ignore it long enough and you're replacing the whole drum — or the whole machine.
If your dryer feels extremely hot on the outside, or shuts itself off before the cycle ends and won't restart until it cools down — stop using it immediately.
This is a safety issue. Modern dryers have a thermal cutoff fuse that trips when the dryer gets too hot, shutting it down before it can start a fire. A dryer that's repeatedly overheating usually has a blocked exhaust vent or a failing cycling thermostat.
Once a thermal fuse trips repeatedly, it can fail permanently — meaning the dryer won't start at all. The fix at that point is replacing the fuse (cheap) plus diagnosing why it overheated in the first place.
You can hear the dryer running, the drum is spinning, but clothes come out cold and damp. This is almost always a heating component failure:
This is one of the most common dryer repairs and also one of the most affordable — typically $150–$250 all-in including parts and labour for most brands.
If you press start and nothing happens — no sound, no drum movement — before assuming the worst, check these first:
If the basics check out, a technician needs to test the door switch, start switch, thermal fuse, and motor to find the failure point. Most of these are quick, affordable fixes.
A good rule of thumb: if your dryer is under 10 years old and the repair costs less than half the price of a new one, repair is almost always the right call. Dryers are generally more repair-friendly than washers — there are fewer complex components and parts are widely available for most major brands.
If your dryer is 12–15+ years old and needs a major component like the motor or control board, that's when we'll give you an honest conversation about whether repair makes sense.
We Fix It Appliances repairs gas and electric dryers across Toronto, North York, Scarborough, Etobicoke, Markham, Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Ajax, Pickering, and the wider GTA. We carry the most common parts on the van and fix most dryer problems in a single visit.
$95 diagnostic fee, credited to your repair. Call or text us — we can usually be there the same day.
Dryer acting up? We can usually be there the same day. Call or text us now.