I have a fairly standard Hotpoint vented electric tumble dryer, which normally works as you would expect, drying clothes, venting the humid air out the side wall, and with a lint trap I empty every load.
Over the past couple of months, though, I have seen a few shirts come out with tiny (1 to 2 mm) scorch marks and am a bit baffled as to the cause.
I can't find any marks inside the drum or door seal, and there doesn't appear to be anything that looks burnt in the lint trap.
I can't find this symptom described anywhere using a quick google, so does anyone know what could cause this or any area I should be looking at to try and diagnose the issue?
Best Answer
Pop open the front panel under the door and vacuum out the lint. It collects inside the housing and pieces get drawn into the air heating elements and blown into the drum. Having nothing to do with the lint trap, this stuff accumulates because it slowly migrates through the felt drum seal.
You may have a potentially dangerous situation here. Any other type of materials that get into the cabinet will also get vacuumed up and blown through the heating elements (glowing coils) which essentially turns them into glowing embers.
The air heater has a thermal limit switch that is supposed to break power to the elements if they're overheating. This kind of overheating will brown large areas, not pinpoints.
Make this cleaning task a six month or yearly scheduled event.