You run a full cycle, open the door, and the clothes are still damp — so you run it again. If your dryer regularly needs two cycles, the machine is telling you something specific, and in Southwestern Ontario homes it is usually one of four things.
1. Restricted airflow (the cause in over half of our calls)
A dryer does not really dry clothes — it moves moist air out of them. When the vent duct is choked with lint, that moist air has nowhere to go, cycles stretch, and the machine works twice as hard. Two-storey homes with long vent runs are the classic case; it is the number-one reason behind dryer repair calls in Kitchener, and the larger lots in Byron and Oakridge make long ducts just as common on our London dryer repair routes. A blocked vent is also a fire risk, so this one is worth taking seriously.
2. A failing heating element or thermal fuse
Electric dryers heat with an element that weakens before it dies — the drum spins, the air moves, but it never gets properly hot. A blown thermal fuse does the same on many models. Both are quick, inexpensive parts to replace when the technician arrives with them on the van.
3. A coated moisture sensor
Modern dryers end the cycle when metal sensor bars inside the drum read “dry.” Dryer-sheet residue coats those bars over time, so the machine thinks clothes are dry when they are not — or keeps running long after they are. Wiping the bars with rubbing alcohol occasionally helps; if the sensor has failed, it is a straightforward replacement.
4. Simple overloading
Half-loads dry fast; stuffed drums cannot tumble, and air never reaches the middle. If two cycles only happen on your biggest loads, the fix might be free.
What you can check yourself
Clean the lint screen every load, then go outside while the dryer runs — the exterior vent flap should be open with strong, warm airflow. Weak or cool airflow points to the duct or the element.
When to call us
If the vent is clear and the dryer still under-performs, our technicians carry elements, fuses and sensors for all major brands and complete most dryer repairs the same day, seven days a week, with a 90-day parts and labour warranty and $35 off any completed repair. Call (519) 900-3010 and we will have it fixed.