Have you noticed that your clothes dryer seems to be taking longer to dry than when you initially bought the unit? Perhaps you’ve had to re-run your dryer a couple times to get fully dry clothes. This can be caused by numerous things which we will take a look at.
The most common reason why your clothes aren’t coming out dry is related to airflow and venting. The first thing to check is the lint filter, which should be cleaned prior to every use. After this, while the dryer is running, take a walk outside to where the dryer vent exits the house. You should feel a steady stream of warm air. If you do not feel air coming out, or very little air, your issue is most certainly related to the airflow. Remove the wall cap and check for blockage at this point. It’s not uncommon to find birds nesting inside of the vent here, I have personally seen this in my own home. If no blockage is found here, look at the entire run of venting. There could be block inside or perhaps a straight pipe has dislodged from an elbow and just needs re-attached. If this is something that you are uncomfortable with, a call to an HVAC company may be the next step.
If air is moving unimpeded from your dryer to the outside of the house the issue is likely not related to air flow and could be related to user error or a faulty washer. Most dryers available today have a sensor cycle and a timed cycle. When using a sensor cycle you should be drying similar fabrics. If you are drying hooded cotton sweatshirts at the same time as thin workout clothes, the sensor may find that the workout clothes are dry and shut the unit down, leaving still damp cotton shirts. If you must dry mixed fabrics, a timed cycle may be the best option as there is no sensor looking at the clothes. Finally if the washer that you use isn’t spinning properly and extracting as much water as possible you may be putting the clothes in the dryer too wet to begin with, resulting in longer dry times.
If you have gone through all of these possibilities and find that they do not apply, it could be possible that the dryer is in fact in need of repair. Calling a local service company like Don’s Appliances would be the next step.