Do-It-Yourself Story

I read the reviews on this site to figure out what might be most likely to cause loss of heat (dryer ran fine otherwise) and I purchased the three parts most likely to fix the problem. I knew I was taking a risk but all three parts were less than $50 so I figured it was worth a shot before calling in a repair person. I was able to access these parts pretty easily through the vent opening and the additional side opening, although I do have pretty slim arms and small hands. It only took 30 minutes to replace all three (plus a little time to clean out the inch thick lint in the machine), and they are all easy to see through the vent opening (the thermostats were to the left on my unit and the thermistor straight ahead). I suggest using a magnetized screw driver but also put a cloth down inside the unit under the part you're working on so that if you do drop a screw it will land on the cloth and not end up in the bowels of the unit. I was able to keep a hold on all of them, especially putting an arm through the side opening in addition to the vent opening. I'm pretty sure it was the thermostat that was bad - I could here something rattling around in there when I took it out - but I went ahead and replaced all three since I had them and I had it apart and away from the wall and plug. Lo and behold, the dryer is like new! I'm not sure if something was going out slowly, but it had been taking longer and longer to dry stuff before it stopped heating at all, but it cranks up the heat now. Thanks for the reviews and advice on this website. I'm pretty handy with repairs, but not an expert by any means, and I would not have taken this on without some pretty clear advice and at least a hope that a cheap solution would be an effective solution. One of my most satisfying repair jobs ever! Easy, cheap, and effective.