[andreau0101]

My dryer is about 6 years old. If it has been sitting a while (over night, when you first start the dryer, it squeals and you do the "please start, please start" as it struggles to get moving. It does get moving and dries OK. Takes longer than before but it is getting hot and turning. There is no clog and the vent is in good condition. I opened the door stopping it to check the model number and when I turned it back on, it started up just fine. The dryer does smell a bit though. Not bad but it does have an odor. Please help!

[drtom4444]

You will have to clean the drier out thoroughly. Every air duct will have to be removed and scraped and washed out to remove baked on lint deposits which is like concrete lining. This will burn so the manufacturer has installed the safeties to keep from having a house fire. Driers were the number one cause of fires at one time. Look at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMP7BW1lLs4 to see how. Also: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBiRw-KElC4 ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFTZGgVisCI
When you finish cleaning the drier it is best to also replace the belt, too, because you do not want to have to disassemble it again, and if the belt is over two years old you should replace it.

Note that on most of the videos it does not show them washing out the parts, but this is important because it's the only way to really get the parts clean, just don't get motor wet or the capacitor if it has one. Vacuum out motor. I would move the drier out to your garage to have plenty of space to work. You also want to check your vent and clean it, also. The job is really easier than it sounds. There is no shortcut that will work; it has to be cleaned well. Before you re-assemble it make sure to use white lithium grease (high-temp grease) and grease all bearings. Just vacuuming out the dryer a little does little good. You also want to check the vent and clean it out. When you are done you will have a new dryer and it will dry like new again. You want to clean it like this every two years or every year with many children. Your bearing on the drum is most likely bad so you will need to replace it with a kit. This is easy to do and will cure your problem, but it must be cleaned very well first. DrTom4444