LESLIE: Alright, John in Savannah, Georgia, I think you called just in time. Tell us about your problem.
JOHN: Yes, I can usually fix almost anything in the house and I have a gas dryer, clothes dryer, and it continually is burning my clothes in little creases.
TOM: Oh, no.
LESLIE: Like, to a crisp?
JOHN: No, no. Just in creases. It’s almost like – it looks like wherever the clothes are folded over there’s a little crease and where that crease is is a burn mark on my clothes.
TOM: Does it look like a black burn mark?
JOHN: Yes, black or dark brown.
TOM: Alright.
LESLIE: Like when you burn a marshmallow.
TOM: No, actually I know exactly what’s wrong. Here’s the good news. I don’t think that it’s burning it. What I think is happening is I think that there’s a rubber roller that the dryer tumbles around and in some types of dryers what happens is the clothes actually get tangled with those rollers …
JOHN: Uh-huh.
TOM: … and it actually leaves like a rubber – it’s almost a tread mark – on the clothes. I’ve seen this before. That’s one thing that comes to mind. The other thing is if there is any kind of a burning issue then A, you may have a problem with the thermostat that controls the amount of heat in the dryer if it overheats …
JOHN: Uh-huh.
TOM: … or B, you could have a simple venting problem. Now, is this a single-family house that you live in?
JOHN: Yes, and I did clean the vent out so maybe it’s the thermostat.
TOM: And it is venting? OK, so it could be the thermostat or it could be the rollers.
JOHN: OK.
TOM: Either way, you’ve got to get this fixed quick; especially if it’s burning.
Let me give you a resource; a web-based resource that’s pretty good. It’s RepairClinic.com These guys maintain a database on pretty much every repair problem out there and every brand of dryer and have probably heard this many more times than I personally have and can tell you exactly what to do and what part you’ll need to fix based on the brand that you have.
LESLIE: And get you that part in 24 hours.
TOM: Yeah, exactly. OK?
JOHN: Alright, well we don’t use it anymore and it’s one of those things where as soon as I can get it fixed – it was a decision: do you buy a new one or do you try to fix the old one?
TOM: Yeah, exactly.
JOHN: OK, I’ll go online to RepairClinic.com. All one word?
TOM: Yes, all one word. OK, John?
JOHN: Very good. Thank you and thanks for answering my question.
TOM: You’re very welcome.
JOHN: I love your show. Take care.
TOM: Thanks for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
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