I haven't ever had a dryer break... except for the time I was trying to *thoroughly* clean all the lint out from the place where the lint tray? screen? goes. While sticking my hand in there - very tight squeeze! - I broke the plastic "wall".

I fixed it myself, using screws and washers to keep the broken pieces together.

Ended up with holes in all my clothes from where they caught on the screws and pieces of broken plastic.



When I was single, the most depressing things to do were going grocery shopping, going to the laundrymat, and putting gas in the car. I hated doing those three things alone.

Here's my Public Service Announcement: Apparently, in addition to cleaning the lint trap of lint, one should also *wash* the lint trap occasionally (once/year?). Especially if you use those horrid dryer sheets.

Try it: take your lint screen to the sink and run water "through" it. Does water tend to pool, not run so readily through the holes? Now try using a bit of hand soap to rinse it thoroughly, until the water runs freely through it.

Supposedly this will help your dryer to not overheat/wear out.

ETA: it should also shorten the time it takes for clothes to get dry. If it seems that it's taking longer and longer to dry your clothes, but you've cleaned the lint from all the appropriate places, try washing the lint screen.