IA76702 Inglis Dryer Burnt Smell

[tvdm]

I have an Inglis gas dryer which has started having a burnt smell mostly during the drying cycle. There is still a burnt smell when not running after some time but not as much. It is definitely not a smell due to a gas leak. I believe the problem is burning lint. I have cleaned out a fair bit of the lint from the inside of the dryer by taking off the back panel. I also looked at the pipe where the flame is located but did not find any excessive lint build up.

Any suggestions?

Thank you

[Repair-man]

Have you done any fresh painting or floor sealing in the house lately?

[tvdm]

Thanks for your reply.

Yes, we just put some hardwood in on the main floor, stained it and sealed it with a urethane but the dryer is in the basement (one floor down) from this. Not sure how this would affect the dryer.

I look forward to your reply.

[Repair-man]

 A gas dryer uses the available air in the room to burn the gas when it heats. If there has been any recent painting or floor sealing done within 200 yards of the dryer, it will pick up the petroleum distillates in the paint fumes and combust these along with the rest of the air. Sometimes this makes the clothes smell funny, as though there were a gas leak or something burning. Even though the fumes themselves might not be detectable by the human nose, they are still present on a molecular level and will cause this issue.

There is nothing you can do to resolve this until the sealer finally cures in the area, taking several months sometimes. You can help mask the odor to some extent by using Bounce sheets in the dryer. This is a phenomenon peculiar to gas dryers only, not electric.

The fact that the floor sealing was done upstairs does not matter, as it shares the same air with the basement. You can expedite the situation by airing out the affected room upstairs so that the fumes dissipate faster. (summer heat may preclude this)

[tvdm]

Wow. Never thought that would be an issue. We have used multiple Bounce sheets but to no success. Good thing it is summer, at least we can hang most of it outside.

Thanks for the information. I guess we will try again in a few months.

Thank you.