The simple answer to this question is that you put wet clothes in, wait a while, then take the dry clothes out – seems simple enough. But creating a machine dryer took mankind millennia to create, so the mechanisms behind this output must be significantly more complicated. Heck, sometimes when I pull damp clothes out of a full cycle, I wonder whether we even have it figured out now…but I digress. Here, we will examine the parts of a typical dryer and how they interact with each other to make wet items dry in just a fraction of the time that it would take time alone to do.

Most dryers consist of five basic elements. Now, some of these aspects can be divided into multiple smaller parts depending on how the reader sees it – but most everybody would agree that these five elements are present in the vast majority of clothes drying machines. These elements are the motor, the fan, the screen, the heating element, and the tumbler. Working together, they create a system that provides efficient air flow at high temperatures than will dry clothes without burning down the entire house.

The tumbler serves as the clothes bin. Clothes are placed directly into it for drying. However, unlike most bins, this one moves to ensure that the clothes are dried throughout and no areas become rife with must or mildew. The tumbler is almost always accessed by a door that is attached horizontally (or more recently, there are also some models that do this vertically).

The heating element is the device used to actually produce the heat that is needed to dry clothes faster. It works off standard physics that water evaporates more quickly at higher temperatures. This is probably the part that differs most from dryer to dryer with different makes, models, and even time periods featuring different types of heating elements. But, in the end, the goal is always to produce heat for the dryer to use in the safest and most efficient way possible.

The fan’s job is to move the excess air out of the system. It works by sucking air out of the tumbler, up a tube, and then pushing out an exhaust duct. This exhaust duct typically leads straight outside, which is why one will often get the smell of fresh linens in their backyard whenever the dryer is running. The fan is responsible for forcing this air to flow in the right direction, otherwise the entire room in which the dryer is located would become extremely hot.

The motor is responsible for keeping all the moving parts…well…moving. It has to be strong enough to rotate the tumbler (which could contain pounds of wet clothing), but also – especially in modern editions – work as efficiently as possible so not to waste too much energy. Maintaining this balance is the goal of any dryer designer.

The final element is the screen. It seems rather unimportant at first, but serves a valuable role in filtering out lint and other large particles. By passing air through the lint screen, these undesirable are caught and filtered rather than being recycled into the clothes or kicked out into large chunks in the yard.

That is how a dryer works.

Author Bio: By Felix Chesterfield III
For a wide selection of dryers – Maytag
More Dryers at Home Depot
For examples of industrial model dryers – Vacuum Dryers

Category: Home Management
Keywords: Clothes dryers, appliances, process equipment