Never leave your clothes dryer on when you go out or when you go to bed. We all know that, right? But, if you're like me, you've done it many times anyway. And have been lucky enough to get away with it.
About a month ago, I filled my 4 year old GE electric dryer and turned it on. I opened the dryer after I started it, then closed the door and re-started it, and left the laundry room. About 1/2 hour later, I went into the laundry room and was shocked at how hot it was - about 110 degrees! I put my hand on the top of the dryer and it was HOT! I called my darling husband, who is very handy and electrically savvy, to check it out. I did not turn the dryer off, as he needed to see exactly what I was seeing.
He turned the dryer off, did some trouble shooting, etc. and finally turned the dryer back on to finish the load and see if the problem re-occurred, all the while keeping a close eye on it.
He was baffled. Next day he went to a local appliance repair shop and explained what happened. The repair guy asked him if the dryer was set on automatic dry, and was it opened before the cycle ended. (I do that all the time.) He told my husband that he knew what the problem was, it happens a lot with electric dryers that have a FRONT lint catcher. It seems that as the dryer tumbles, the drum rotation sets up a vibration. Over time the vibration and tumbling action move the heating element closer to the drum. Sometimes the heating element touches part of the drum and welds itself to the drum. Then, if you open the dryer before the automatic dry cycle ends and then restart it, the dryer heats up abnormally. According to him, this will not cause the dryer to overheat to the point of starting a fire. It seems the partial weld will not get hot enough for that, plus there is a heat sensor that would cut off the electricity if it happened to get that hot.
It's a GE dryer. We called GE, and they sent a guy out to check it. He did a bunch of tests, none of which duplicated the situation we had, and declared the dryer was working properly. My husband tried to get him to try to replicate the conditions that caused the malfunction, and he would not.
My husband wanted to fix the dryer. I said that he could fix it, but I wasn't going to use it, and asked if he could guarantee me that it wouldn't happen again (he could not). I have worked in the software industry for 20 years, and have done my share of testing during those years. From that I learned that if there is one failure in a system, a second failure is very likely to occur - kind of the unintended consequence of the first failure. I told my husband that one failure in the heating element was enough for me, and what if the next failure is that heat sensor? He thought I was nuts, which I probably am, but I am truly afraid of a fire in my home. He saw my point of view.
The appliance repair guy told my husband that the problem occurs in dryers with the front lint catcher, but not in the ones with the lint filter in the top of the dryer. It's because of the way the drum and the heating element are placed. So we went out and bought a dryer with the lint dryer on the top. It isn't top of the line, which is fine with me, because over the years I've learned that I rarely use more than 2 cycles anyway. We did not purchase a GE because GE wouldn't acknowledge there was a problem.
My husband was a wee bit upset because it didn't match the washer, so I very sweetly asked him if he wanted to buy a new washer, too? He very emphatically said, "NO!"
Needless to say, I will NEVER again leave the dryer on when I go to bed or when I go out. It's too risky!