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Amana produces some of the most well-built home appliances on the market, including clothes dryers. Still, there are situations where you’ll find your Amana dryer not heating or not drying at all.
When your Amana dryer fails to heat or dry, check your internal power supply. Dryers use two circuits and two breakers. Both must be operational for the dryer to function correctly. A dirty lint screen and clogged vents can prevent the machine from drying, even if it gets hot. A blown thermal fuse will also prevent the appliance from heating up.
Troubleshooting your Amana dryer when it won’t heat or dry isn’t too challenging. This guide will help you understand what’s happening and how to fix it.
Why Is My Amana Dryer Not Heating And Drying?
When an Amana dryer fails, it doesn’t necessarily fail all at once. For example, your dryer might turn on without a problem yet fail to produce heat or dry your laundry.
Here are the reasons that happens and what you can do to fix it:
Incoming Power Supply
What it is: The first thing to troubleshoot when your dryer doesn’t heat or dry is its incoming power supply. Like all dryer brands, Amana models require plenty of power to generate heat and dry your clothes.
Each dryer operates on two separate circuits in your home or building. One circuit supplies power to the dryer’s heating element, while the other powers the machine’s other supporting components.
Because the dryer connects to two circuits, it also uses two circuit breakers in your main electrical box.
How it causes issues: Suppose your Amana dryer can turn on but won’t dry or heat. In that case, you must ensure that the machine is receiving the incoming power it needs from both circuits.
Start by checking your main electrical box. For example, you might find that one of the dryer’s two circuit breakers was tripped.
Besides, the wall socket you use for your dryer might be faulty and prevent the dryer from getting a full power supply.
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How to fix it: You can fix this problem by resetting any tripped circuit breakers you find. To do that, switch the tripped circuit breaker to the OFF position first. Then, you can push it to the ON position to restore power.
Troubleshooting and fixing a faulty wall socket, especially one built for dryers, can be risky. So, you’re better off referring to a qualified electrician to help you with that.
Read: Why Does My Dryer Take Several Cycles To Dry Clothes? – Troubleshooting Guide
Dirty Lint Screen
What it is: The lint screen is a dryer component with a straightforward function. It sits inside your Amana dryer and removes lint, dirt, and other impurities from the air.
The lint screen (also referred to as a lint trap) can get dirty pretty quickly. So, you must clean it frequently to maintain smooth airflow through your dryer.
How it causes issues: If your Amana dryer is generating heat, but your clothes still aren’t drying, you likely have a dirty or clogged lint screen.
When a lint screen is dirty, it blocks air from flowing out of your dryer. As a result, the moisture from your clothes will remain trapped in the drum, and your laundry won’t dry.
How to fix it: Thankfully, fixing this problem only takes a few minutes. First, remove the lint screen from your Amana dryer and clean it thoroughly. Doing that will restore smooth airflow so the machine can dry your clothes normally again.
You must also remember to clean the lint screen after each laundry load. That way, your dryer will continuously operate at maximum efficiency.
Read: Why Dryer Smells Like Sewage?
Clogged Internal Or External Vents
What it is: Aside from the lint trap, your dryer’s air must flow through multiple vents.
The first is the internal vent located within your Amana dryer. That vent carries air from the blower wheel (which drives the air and causes it to move) to your dryer drum (where the air will dry your clothes).
The second vent you must be aware of is the external vent behind your dryer. That’s the vent duct that carries hot and moist air from your dryer toward the outside of your home or building.
To maximize drying, you must ensure that both vents are clean so air can flow through smoothly.
How it causes issues: A clogged vent, whether internal or external, will prevent your dryer air from flowing smoothly.
As you’ve read above, smooth airflow is crucial for your Amana dryer. The moving air removes moisture from your laundry and carries it out of the machine.
Unfortunately, both vents are prone to clogging. Lint, dirt, and dust are typical causes of those clogs. However, foreign objects that fall out of clothes pockets (e.g. pens) can also add to the clog and worsen it.
How to fix it: Your Amana appliance will resume drying once you clear all clogged vents. The internal vents will require you to remove the dryer’s rear panel to access the inside. However, you can avoid the external vents much more quickly by detaching them from the back of the dryer.
Use a vacuum and brush to remove as much lint and dust as possible.
Read: Gas Vs Electric Dryer | In-Depth Comparison
Blown Thermal Fuse
What it is: Your Amana dryer has several safety features. One of those features is the thermal fuse that stops your dryer from damaging itself when it overheats.
When your dryer’s temperatures become too high, the thermal fuse will blow and break the dryer’s circuit. That will stop the dryer from producing any more heat.
Aside from preventing damage, the thermal fuse also prevents dryer fires which are pretty common these days.
How it causes issues: The final reason your Amana dryer isn’t heating is that the thermal fuse has blown. That likely happened because the dryer became too hot at some point.
How to fix it: Thermal fuses are sacrificial devices. That means they’re designed to destroy themselves to break the circuit when the dryer overheats.
As such, you cannot repair or service a blown thermal fuse. Your only option is to remove the existing fuse and replace it with a new one.
The fuse is located behind its rear panel at the back of the dryer. So, you’ll have to undo the panel to access the fuse.
Once you do that, you can detach the blown fuse and put the new one in its place the same way.
Read: GE Electric/Gas Dryer Not Heating?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Check out these helpful answers as you troubleshoot your Amana dryer:
What Happens If My Dryer Overheats?
When your dryer overheats, it will trigger the machine’s safety mechanisms. That typically includes a thermal fuse that will shut off the dryer’s heating element and prevent it from causing further damage.
Does A Dryer Use Two Circuit Breakers?
Yes, dryers use two circuit breakers. That’s because electric dryers require two circuits to function correctly. The first circuit supplies power to the heating element, while the second circuit powers the machine’s other functions.
What Causes So Much Lint In Dryer?
The lint from your dryer consists of fabrics lifted from your clothing items. Excess lint in your dryer results from a dirty lint trap that can no longer remove that lint from the air.
Read: 5 Reasons Why Fisher Paykel Dryer Is Not Heating
Can You Run A Dryer Without A Thermal Fuse?
No, you cannot run a dryer without a thermal fuse. You shouldn’t even try to do so, as that’s an incredibly dangerous thing to do. A thermal fuse protects a dryer from damaging itself and causing a fire if it overheats.
Does A Dryer Vent Have To Be Vented Outside?
Yes, you must vent your dryer outside. That way, all the heat and moisture from your dryer can escape to the external environment instead of making your home’s interior hot and humid.
