My Dryer Makes a Scraping Noise

Clothing Fasteners

• Before you place items into your dryer, close each piece of clothing’s fasteners, such as zippers, snaps and buttons. Sometimes a fastener that’s open can scrape against the walls of the drum as it tumbles and create an unpleasant noise. Closing fasteners prior to starting a drying cycle keeps the noise to a minimum.

Leveling

• The scraping sound you hear coming from your dryer might be the appliance hitting against nearby walls or the neighboring washing machine. The dryer must be level on all sides or the dryer can vibrate when it spins. Review the manual that was supplied with your dryer for instructions on how to level it. Ensure that each leveling foot is installed and positioned firmly on the laundry room floor before starting your dryer again.

Belt

• A torn drum belt can produce a scraping noise that will sound almost rhythmic. Each time the drum rotates, the loose piece of rubber from the worn belt can scrape the cabinet’s sides. Remove the dryer’s main panel to view the belt. If it looks tattered or split, replace it.

Cycling Thermostats

• Many dryers have several cycling thermostats, typically found in a cluster, mounted to the inside wall of the drum often near the vent collar. Although each thermostat is screwed to the wall so that it stays in place, a screw could come loose and cause a thermostat to swing when the drum rotates. The swinging motion of the unhinged thermostat can make a mild scraping noise. Inspect each thermostat to ensure that it’s secure, replace missing screws if needed.

Idler Pulley

• The idler pulley is a mechanism that makes the drum belt taut so that it’s able to spin the drum. When the idler pulley wears, it can squeak, squeal or produce a scraping-like sound, as the component’s wheel struggles to turn in an opposite direction of the belt. Review a diagram of your dryer in the manual to determine how to access the pulley on your model. The component is commonly positioned close to the bottom of the dryer near the motor. Rotate the wheel with your hand. If the wheel doesn’t move with ease, contact a dryer repair specialist to change out the pulley.