Cornelius resident Tommy Walker had more than 50 years experience in appliance repair and operated Tommy’s Appliance Service until retiring a few years ago.  Tommy offers his advice for various appliances.

Feb. 7.  Preventing a long drying time starts with the washing machine. First, don’t overload.

If the washer is overloaded, then when it comes to spin the water out, which is timed to do that, there won’t be enough time to extract all the water out.

So when the clothes go into the dryer, the dryer has to work so much harder to remove the excess moisture in the clothes, which increases drying time.

That results in higher costs more to operate and  wears out the heater in the dryer prematurely.

Secondly, when taking the clothes out of the washer, don’t just throw them in the druyer.  Separate the garments so they go in the dryer individually.

This way, as the dryer starts, the clothes are already separated, and airflow can be more effective to dry the clothes.

I do use clean, sent-free dyer sheets, but I try to use them for two loads. Do not allow multiple sheets to accumulate in the dryer.

Also, clean the lint screen after every load.

Tommy