Deep cleaning your dryer 🧽

With an endless stream of nappy inserts, towels, and dirty toddler clothes, many families depend on their dryers to get through the many loads of laundry, especially during the colder, wetter months. Almost every item releases some lint in the dryer, and nappy inserts are particularly prone to doing so. All these extra cycles lead to a faster accrual of lint, which means you need to clean your dryer more often.

Cleaning the lint filters

Cleaning the lint filter is essential and only takes a few seconds at the end of each cycle. No tools are necessary, use your fingers to scrape out the lint. If your dryer is clogged with lint, it has to work harder, which lengthens drying times and results in higher energy use. Not to mention, it is also a fire hazard.

Most towels and many cloth nappy inserts are made from cotton or other natural fibres, which are prone to a bit of shedding. You can add natural fibres to your compost heap or collect them to make zero-waste firelighters.

Cleaning the lint housing

Most lint filters have two parts. The lint filter you clean each time, and an outer casing that houses the filter.

Running your hand across the lint filter is enough to remove the majority of the lint from the filter after each cycle.

Over time, tiny bits of lint start to accumulate on the filter and in the outer casing. Aim to give these a more thorough clean at least once a month or even more frequently over winter. To do this, rinse both parts under running water. If there is a lot of lint, remove it using an old toothbrush and a few drops of dishwashing liquid alongside water. 

Dry everything before reinserting the filters.

Cleaning the heat exchanger filter

We know from last year’s State of laundry survey that many of our community members in Australia own a heat pump dryer. Heat pump and condenser dryers have a secondary filter located behind the front panel. This protects the heat exchanger and is an extremely important part of the machine.

If lint gets trapped inside the heat exchanger, the damp air is unable to cool down and condense efficiently. If this becomes heavily blocked, it restricts the dryer’s airflow, which can severely damage internal components and cause the machine to overheat.

Cleaning the heat exchanger filter (and its surrounding housing) is a bit more involved than cleaning the standard door lint filters, but it is essential to prevent performance drops or mechanical failure. Aim to inspect and clean this area every 1 to 3 months, or immediately if a filter warning light illuminates on your display panel.

🛠️ Quick steps for cleaning the heat exchanger filter

1. Turn off and unplug the dryer.
2. Open the front access panel at the bottom of the machine (note: some self-cleaning dryers do not have this hatch).
3. Remove filter cartridge (if equipped). If your model uses one, unlock the levers and pull out the plastic filter housing or foam block.
4. Clean the filter. If you removed a cartridge, remove the lint by hand or vacuum it. If it is washable, rinse the foam under warm water and allow it to dry thoroughly.
5. Clean the fixed internal fins. Look inside the open cavity and use your vacuum’s soft brush attachment or a specialist tool to gently remove lint from the exposed metal fins.
   ⚠ Direction matters: always move the brush up and down the fins. Moving horizontally or pressing too hard will bend the delicate aluminium fins and restrict airflow.
6. Wipe around the hatch housing, ensure any washed filters are completely dry, and reassemble.

There are a lot of variations between machines. The best way to know exactly what applies to your dryer is to check your machine’s manual or search YouTube for your specific model. You’ll be able to see where the secondary filter is located, how to access hidden areas, and the safest way to clean them.

Deep-clean the rest of your machine

It is a good idea to vacuum the rest of your machine at the same time you clean your heat exchanger filter. Lint falls into gaps in the machine every time you pull the main lint filter out. The sneakiest and smallest lint particles can also bypass the filters and find their way into nooks and crannies inside the machine. 

Make sure your dryer is switched off and unplugged. Attach a crevice tool to your vacuum cleaner to suck up the loose debris from different parts of the machine.

If your standard vacuum attachments are too big to fit into the gap, you can make a custom DIY tool. Tape an empty cardboard paper towel roll to the end of your vacuum hose, squash the cardboard flat at the tip, and slide it into any tight spaces.

Lastly, vacuum directly behind and underneath the dryer to suck up any dust bunnies that might be hiding there.

Check where your dryer is placed in your home

If you are regularly cleaning your dryer but still having issues with slow drying times, the problem might be where your dryer sits within your home. 

Most appliances are designed to work in a room with an ambient temperature of 15–30°C. When the ambient room temperature is below 10°C, dryers struggle to heat up and will take significantly longer to dry your clothes. Cold air combined with minor dust buildup can also push warm, humid air right back up into the screen, messing with the sensor. 

This isn’t generally an issue if you keep your dryer inside the house. However, it can become a problem if your dryer is in a cold garage or outside when the temperature dips into single digits.

Conversely, if your dryer is kept in a cupboard, or a ‘European style’ laundry, it won’t receive enough ventilation. The surrounding air will become too warm, and this will blow out your drying times. To counter this, keep the cupboard door open when the dryer is running or install a louvred door.

Wrapping it up

We love our dryers, and using them to dry cloth nappy inserts on rainy, cold winter days is one of their best features.

Just like your washing machine, proper maintenance and care of your dryer can help extend its lifespan. Regular maintenance will keep your dryer working most efficiently and keep your electricity bills lower.