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A dryer that has stopped drying properly is almost never broken. In the large majority of cases it is restricted airflow — and that is something you can usually fix yourself in ten minutes with no tools and no engineer.
Answer these three questions first:
Is the drum turning and getting warm? If yes, the motor and the heater are both working, and you are looking at an airflow or sensor problem — problems 1 to 6 below.
Is the drum turning but staying cold? That points at the heating element, thermostat or a tripped thermal cut-out — problems 7 and 9.
Is the cycle finishing early with clothes still damp? That is usually the moisture sensor — problem 8.
Nine Reasons a Tumble Dryer Stops Drying
1. A blocked lint filter
What it looks like: cycles take longer and longer. Clothes come out warm but damp. The machine feels hotter than usual.
Why it happens: a dryer works by moving air through wet fabric. A felted layer of lint across the filter chokes that airflow, so the machine runs and runs without actually removing much moisture. This is by a distance the most common cause of poor drying.
How to fix it: pull the filter out and peel the lint off. If it has been neglected, rinse it under a warm tap, scrub gently with a soft brush and — this part matters — let it dry completely before putting it back. A damp filter goes straight back to blocking airflow.
There is a quick test for a hidden problem: hold the clean, dry filter up and pour water onto it. If the water sits in a bead rather than running straight through, there is an invisible film on the mesh, usually from fabric softener or dryer sheets. Scrub it off properly.
DIY or engineer: DIY. Do this before anything else.
2. A clogged condenser or heat exchanger
What it looks like: the filter is clean but drying is still poor. There may be water pooling under the machine, or the water tank filling much less than it used to.
Why it happens: on condenser and heat pump dryers, the air passes through a second filter and a condenser unit after it leaves the drum. Lint that gets past the main filter collects there. People clean the lint filter religiously and never touch this one, often for years.
How to fix it: on most machines the condenser is behind a flap at the bottom front. Release the catches, slide the unit out, and rinse it under the tap until the water runs clear through the fins. Let it drain fully before refitting.
On a heat pump dryer the heat exchanger is usually sealed and not user-removable, but there is a filter in front of it that is. Check your manual before pulling at anything — heat pump units contain refrigerant and should not be forced.
DIY or engineer: DIY on condenser models. Check the manual first on heat pump models.
3. Overloading
What it looks like: the outside of the load is dry, the middle is still wet. Or everything comes out evenly damp after a full cycle.
Why it happens: air has to circulate between the items. A drum packed to the top has nowhere for that air to go, so the load tumbles as a solid mass and dries from the outside in.
How to fix it: aim for the drum no more than about two thirds full. A dryer's stated capacity in kilograms is a maximum, not a target. Bedding is the usual culprit — a double duvet on its own is a full load in an 8kg machine.
DIY or engineer: DIY. Free.
4. The clothes are too wet going in
What it looks like: the dryer seems fine but every load takes two cycles.
Why it happens: this one is not the dryer's fault at all. Your washing machine's spin speed determines how much water is left in the load before drying even starts. A 1000rpm spin leaves considerably more water in the fabric than a 1400rpm spin, and the dryer has to remove every drop of it.
How to fix it: run the washing machine at a higher spin speed, or add an extra spin cycle before transferring the load. If your washer tops out at 1000rpm and you tumble dry regularly, that is worth knowing when you next replace it — our washing machine guide covers spin speeds and why 1400rpm pays for itself if you own a dryer.
DIY or engineer: DIY. Change one setting.
5. A full water tank or blocked drain
What it looks like: the cycle stops early, often with a warning light. Or water appears on the floor.
Why it happens: condenser and heat pump dryers collect the water they extract in a removable tank. When it is full, the machine stops — by design. If the dryer is plumbed to a drain instead, a kinked or blocked hose does the same thing.
How to fix it: empty the tank. If it was not full, check the tank is seated properly — a tank pushed in at a slight angle can read as full. If plumbed, check the hose for kinks and make sure it is not pushed too far into the standpipe.
DIY or engineer: DIY.
6. The room is too cold, or too sealed
What it looks like: drying got noticeably worse when the weather turned. Common in garages, outbuildings and unheated utility rooms.
Why it happens: heat pump dryers in particular work by moving heat around, and they do that far less efficiently when the surrounding air is cold. Most have a minimum operating temperature in the manual, often somewhere around 5–10°C. Below that, performance falls off sharply.
The opposite problem is a sealed cupboard. A dryer sheds heat into the room, and if that heat has nowhere to go the machine ends up recycling its own hot air.
How to fix it: leave at least 10cm of clearance around the sides and back. If it lives in a cupboard, the door needs to be open during the cycle or the cupboard needs a vent. In an unheated garage in winter, there may be no fix beyond moving the machine — check the minimum ambient temperature in your manual.
DIY or engineer: DIY, though it may mean relocating the dryer.
7. A failed heating element
What it looks like: the drum turns normally for the full cycle but the clothes come out cold and wet. No warmth at all.
Why it happens: on vented and condenser dryers, an electric element heats the air. Elements fail, usually after years of running hot — and they fail faster in a machine that has been running with restricted airflow, because the element overheats.
How to fix it: this is a replacement part and a job for an engineer. It is a common enough failure that most repairers carry the parts.
Note: heat pump dryers have no conventional heating element, so a cold heat pump dryer is a different fault — usually the compressor or the refrigerant circuit, which is expensive.
DIY or engineer: engineer.
8. A faulty or fooled moisture sensor
What it looks like: the cycle ends far too early, reporting the load as dry when it plainly is not.
Why it happens: sensor-dry machines have metal strips inside the drum that measure conductivity across the tumbling clothes. Fabric softener and dryer sheets leave a waxy residue on those strips, and the sensor reads the residue instead of the laundry — so it decides the load is dry within minutes.
How to fix it: find the two metal bars inside the drum and wipe them with a cloth and a little white vinegar or rubbing alcohol. This fixes it surprisingly often, and costs nothing. If the problem persists after cleaning, the sensor itself may have failed, which is an engineer job.
DIY first: clean the sensors. Engineer only if that does not work.
9. A tripped thermal cut-out
What it looks like: the dryer runs but never heats, and it started immediately after a cycle where the machine got unusually hot.
Why it happens: dryers have a thermal fuse or cut-out that kills the heating circuit if the machine overheats. It is a safety device doing its job, and the usual cause of it tripping is — again — blocked airflow.
How to fix it: the cut-out needs replacing or resetting by an engineer. Crucially, fix the airflow problem at the same time. Replacing the cut-out without clearing the blockage means it will trip again.
DIY or engineer: engineer.
One Thing Worth Taking Seriously
Lint is highly flammable, and a dryer running with restricted airflow runs hotter than it was designed to. That combination is the reason tumble dryers appear in fire statistics at all.
None of the checks above are only about drying performance. Clean the filter after every single load, clean the condenser every few months, and never run the machine overnight or while you are out of the house. If you ever smell burning, stop the cycle and unplug it.
Repair or Replace?
A useful rule: if the quoted repair comes to more than half the price of a suitable replacement, replace it.
Beyond that, a few specifics:
- Under 5 years old and it is a filter, sensor, thermostat or element: repair. These are routine parts and the machine has years left.
- Over 8 years old and it needs a compressor or refrigerant work on a heat pump: replace. That is the most expensive component in the machine, and once it goes, others usually follow.
- You have already paid for two repairs in two years: replace. You are renting the machine at that point.
- It is a B-rated or worse condenser you use several times a week: worth replacing early. A heat pump dryer uses roughly a third of the electricity, and the running-cost difference can pay for the new machine faster than you would expect. Our heat pump vs condenser guide has the full cost comparison.
For a broader view on this, our guide to how long appliances really last covers the repair-versus-replace decision across the whole kitchen.
If You Are Replacing It
Four dryers, covering four different situations:
- Cheapest sensible replacement: the Indesit CYDC82WWGLUK 8kg condenser at £269. Full family drum, sensor dry, no venting needed.
- Smaller household: the Montpellier MDATDSC7W 7kg condenser at £369. Shorter cycles on smaller loads.
- Best value over its life: the Montpellier MHP8SDW 8kg heat pump at £479. A++ rated, 16 programmes, and roughly half the running cost of a condenser.
- Quietest and best built: the Samsung Series 9 9kg heat pump at £1,050. A+++, 62dB, 19 programmes, and a 20-year warranty on the motor.
If the washing machine is the same age and heading the same way, buying the pair together costs less: the freestanding laundry bundle is £689 and the heat pump laundry bundle is £849.
Browse the full tumble dryer range or the wider laundry collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my tumble dryer taking two cycles to dry a load?
Nearly always restricted airflow. Clean the lint filter first, then the condenser unit — people clean the filter and forget the condenser for years. If both are clean, check you are not overloading the drum and that your washing machine is spinning at a high enough speed before the clothes go in.
Why are my clothes still damp but the dryer says the cycle finished?
The moisture sensor is probably coated in fabric softener residue and reading that instead of your laundry. Wipe the two metal strips inside the drum with white vinegar or rubbing alcohol. It is a five-minute fix that works more often than not.
Why is my tumble dryer not heating up at all?
On a vented or condenser dryer, usually a failed heating element or a tripped thermal cut-out — both engineer jobs. On a heat pump dryer there is no conventional element, so a complete lack of heat points at the compressor or refrigerant circuit, which is expensive enough that replacement is often the better call on an older machine.
How often should I clean the condenser on my dryer?
Every three to six months, more often if you dry towels and bedding regularly or have pets. The lint filter is after every load without exception.
Can I put my tumble dryer in the garage?
Check the minimum operating temperature in the manual first. Many dryers, heat pump models especially, will not work properly below around 5–10°C, which an unheated British garage drops under for months of the year. You will get poor drying and long cycles rather than an obvious fault.
Does fabric softener damage a tumble dryer?
It does not damage it, but it causes two of the faults on this page. The residue coats the lint filter mesh and blocks airflow invisibly, and it coats the moisture sensors so they end cycles early. If you use softener, expect to scrub the filter and wipe the sensors more often.
Is it worth repairing a tumble dryer?
If the repair costs more than half the price of a suitable replacement, no. Filters, sensors, thermostats and heating elements are usually worth fixing on a machine under about eight years old. Compressor or refrigerant work on a heat pump dryer rarely is.
Prices correct at September 2026. Not sure whether yours is worth fixing? Tell us the make, model and what it is doing on WhatsApp — we will give you an honest answer, including when the answer is that you do not need a new dryer.
