A Burning Smell and Noise Near the Motor of a Maytag Dryer

Troubleshoot Smells

• 1

  Open the door in the garage or a window in the laundry room to ventilate chemical odors and fumes. Car engines and other handyman-work can produce burning smell fumes from chemicals which then get sucked into the dryer. Try to avoid mixing harsh cleaning chemicals, such as bleach and other cleaning products. You might have to run the dryer through a couple of cycles to completely burn off the internal chemical smells that have clung to the motor, drum and other components.

• 2

  Rewash a damp load that was left overnight in the dryer. The mildew and resulting odors can permeate through the dryer and cling to the motor and other components. When the motor runs and heats up, the smell of burned, dried mildew or other organic detritus might flow from the dryer. Allow the odor to dissipate.

• 3

  Have patience and run the dryer through a couple of cycles if you are a new homeowner or a new Maytag dryer owner. The heating element in the new dryer may emit natural odors when in operation.

• 4

  Check the water inlet hose on the back of the dryer, if your model uses steam-enhanced cycles to help remove wrinkles. Make sure it is connected and that the faucet and water valve on the dryer are both turned on. If the dryer lacks a proper water connection, it can produce burned odors when the machine attempts to heat up the steam but there is no moisture, creating a burning smell.

Troubleshoot Noise

• 5

  Listen for a normal clicking sound if your Maytag dryer uses natural gas. There is a gas valve in the back of the dryer that makes clicking sounds when it turns on. This might sound like the motor is making the sound, because both the motor and gas valve are not in plain sight.

• 6

  Pause or stop the dryer cycle to check the load of clothes. If the items are bundled or clumped into a ball, unravel them. This thick mass of laundry can cause the entire appliance to vibrate, as if the motor is struggling to tumble the drum.

• 7

  Unload any items to inspect the seams of the dryer for stray debris and obstructions, such as coins. Use a flashlight to inspect the front and back of the drum, around the entire circular seam. Remove foreign objects caught in the seams. The rotating drum can produce scraping noises if metal coins or screws are in the seams, sounding like a malfunctioning motor is the culprit.

• 8

  Observe the lighted cycle indicators on the control panel to see if the enhanced steam boosters are at work. The steam feature can produce a humming or whining noise -- if used for the first time or not used frequently enough. It's the water valves, not the motor, that is the source of this noise, and it is normal in the steam cycle.

• 9

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