Who doesn’t love the functionality of a dryer, right? It has become a must-have appliance in our day-to-day life as it can dry our clothes in a very short period of time.
However, it can be a matter of great concern when your dryer smells like mold or mildew.
You might be wondering why the dryer smells like mildew or mold and how to get rid of them. Let’s find the answers to all your queries about mold or mildew smell in the dryer.
Why does my dryer smell like mold or mildew?
The most common reason for a dryer to smell like mold or mildew is a malfunctioning vent system. It can also occur if you keep your clothes inside the dryer for a long time. You can however remove the mold and mildew smell from the dryer quite easily by following the right process.
If your dryer smells like mold and mildew, it can be quite frustrating and annoying. The mold and mildew smell from your dryer will also form in your laundry room, which can make your laundering experience much worse.
Your dryer can smell like mold or mildew due to various reasons. It can happen if you overload your dryer with more clothes than its capacity and leave the clothes inside the dryer tub for a long time.
It can also occur if lint accumulates in the dryer and due to malfunctioning vent systems.
Let’s take a look at why your dryer smells like mold or mildew.
Leaving clothes inside the dryer for a long time:
If you leave your clothes in your dryer for a long period of time, then mold will start to form in the dryer. You shouldn’t put your clothes in the dryer after the drying cycle has finished, especially in the summer.
If the dryer smells like mold or mildew, your clothes will pick up the moldy smell. So, you should remove the laundry from the dryer as soon as the cycle is finished.
In addition, you should never leave a synthetic or polyester cloth inside the dryer after the dryer cycle is finished. This is because mold or mildew can form on these clothes quite fast and can also retain odor.
Overloading:
Every drying machine has a specific cloth holding capacity. If you overload the dryer, it may start to smell like mold or mildew. Some clothes at the end of the dryer cycle will still remain clothes when the dryer is overloaded, causing mildew like smell.
Clogged dryer vent:
The drying machines contain a dryer vent to vent out the heat and air particles from the dryer tub.
The dryer vent can get clogged if lint gets trapped on its filter. Due to the clogged dryer vent, the air particles will accumulate on the dryer, causing a mildew-like smell.
Tips to get rid of mildew or mold from the dryer:
Getting rid of the mildew or mold from the dryer can be somewhat tricky. You will have to follow the right methods to get rid of the mildew or mold from the dryer without damaging it.
Here are some tips to get rid of mildew or mold from the dryer:
Clean the dryer:
Cleaning the dryer is the most effective way to get rid of the mold from the unit. You should use a bleach or vinegar solution with hot water to clean the dryer. For safety purposes, you should put on gloves before dipping a cloth in the solution.
Then you should scrub the dryer with the solution to get rid of the mold or mildew. After cleaning the dryer with the solution make sure to scrub the unit with normal water to remove the mixture.
Ensure that the dryer vent is functioning:
The dryer vent of a dryer basically vents out the heat and the air particles from the clothes. By ensuring that the dryer vent is functioning properly you can get rid of the mold or mildew from the dryer.
To ensure that the dryer vent is functioning properly, you should ensure that the dryer vent is not clogged. In the opening of the dryer vent, there is a lint trap. By cleaning the lint trap, you can make sure that the dryer vent is not clogged.
Leave the lid of the dryer open:
Mold or mildew basically grows in damp and dark places. When you close the lid immediately after a dryer cycle, the air particles released from the clothes get trapped inside the dryer. As a result, mold will form on the dryer quite fast.
By keeping your dryer’s lid open, you will make sure that the air particles get out of the dryer properly. You can also ensure that proper air ventilation occurs in the dryer tub and ensure light enters it to prevent the formation of mold.
Use natural mold or mildew repellents:
To get rid of the mold or mildew from the dryer, you can use natural repellents inside the dryer. You can just leave a cup of distilled white vinegar inside the dryer to get rid of the mold or mildew.
Is moldy laundry dangerous?
A moldy laundry is definitely dangerous for you and your drier. The mold in your laundry will spread to your clothes and from the clothes, it will transfer to your body.
It can cause severe lung infection and it can turn fatal sometimes. The mold spores in your cloth can also result in skin disease and skin rashes.
In addition to that, moldy laundry also indicates that there is some problem in your dryer and washer. This is because mold forms on the dryer and washer if the vent system of the units is malfunctioning and the vent trap is clogged.
If your laundry is moldy, your clothes will not remain germ-free even after washing them. This can result in various diseases. Your clothes will also smell like mold or mildew even after being washed in the moldy laundry.
Tips to prevent mold buildup in the dryer:
Preventing mold buildup in the dryer is not as complicated as it may seem to you at first. You can do it quite easily by following the right process.
You will have to take proper precautions before placing your clothes if you want to prevent mold or mildew buildup in the dryer effectively.
Let’s take a look at how you can prevent mold buildup in the dryer.
Clean your dryer’s lint trap:
One of the main reasons for the formation of mold or mildew smell in the dryer is a clogged lint trap.
This is due to the fact that the blocked lint trap will prevent the odor and air particles from getting out of the dryer through the vent system. As a result, mold or mildew will form on the dryer, resulting in mildew or mold-like smell.
If the lint trap gets blocked, the venting system will also malfunction. So, by cleaning the lint trap you can make sure that the venting stem works correctly, preventing the growth of mold or mildew.
To clean the lint trap, remove it and thoroughly wash it in hot water with vinegar or bleach. Allow it to dry properly. In addition, you should also clean the space around the vent trap of the dryer.
Don’t overload the dryer:
If you put more clothes in the dryer than its maximum capacity, some clothes will remain wet even after the dryer cycle is over.
So, when the dryer is overloaded, the wet clothes will form mold or mildew in the dryer. This will make the dryer smell like mold or mildew.
By making sure you don’t overload the dryer, you can keep it free from mold or mildew. To stay on the safe side, you should load the dryer with only ¾ th of the maximum capacity.
Don’t leave the clothes in the dryer for a long period of time:
If you leave the clothes in the dryer for a long period of time, it causes the formation of mold or mildew.
Polyester or synthetic clothes will cause mold or mildew formation faster than other types of clothes. So, you should never leave your clothes in the dryer after the dryer cycle is over.
Final Thoughts
Mold or mildew can form on your dryer if the dryer vent is not functioning properly. This will cause the dryer to smell like mold or mildew, which will also attach to the clothes. However, you can prevent mold or mildew smell from forming on the dryer easily by taking proper precautionary measures.