Tumble Dryer Alarm Clock

It looks like my tumble dryer has an alarm built in to it that wakes me up about once a year. Last year it was a clacking clanking scraping sound (see here).

This year it's a thump thump-thump sound. (Sort of D in Morse code). OK, it's 1:30am so I don't get up, but try to sleep through it. After a couple of hours the dryer finishes its program and I get some sleep. Five o'clock comes round and I get up and investigate.

I've forgotten how to get the top off properly (just undo the side screws and the top comes off to the front. Don't undo the rear screws like I did. Again). To get the sides off I need to take the front panel off and to do that I need to take the bottom vent off. I forgot that it slides on these clips:

I finally have the top and two sides off and can now look for the D-thump. Turning the drum manually I can just feel a bump now and again. The rear bearings look fine, so I have a look at the rollers. They are fine too. Then I notice the drum has some black marks where something has stuck to the track the rollers run in.

I find that there's a big blob and several smaller blobs, which probably accounts for the D pattern of thumping. I scrape the blobs off with a wooden stick and re-assemble the dryer.

A quick test and the D-thump is gone. I have no idea what the black blobs were. At first I thought it might be material from the rollers, but they look fine, with no obvious missing material. Maybe something fell onto a roller and ended up smeared around the drum?  I have no idea, but the dryer seems well again, which is good.

Miele T230C Tumble Dryer De-Problem

Being woken up by a clacking clanking scraping sound (CCSS from now on) normally means the little one has decided to attempt destruction of his cot, but this time, it was a bit too regular and went on for too long. So I went to investigate and the CCSS was coming from the other direction, from the tumble dryer that was running on cheap rate electricity. Oh dear. We're off on holiday today an could do without a dryer failure. Anyway, it's 3:30am so normal getting up time, so I get dressed and go and dismantle the dryer to find where the CCSS is coming from.

The dryer looks like this:

The CCSS sounds like something has fallen inside and is scraping on the drum, so the first thing to do is to remove the top. This looks like two screws but turns into a bit of a battle and ends up being four screws and a slide type hinge at the back. (When I put it all back together I find that you can get the top off without removing any screws at all, just undo the side ones under the plastic covers and the lift the front while sliding the top backwards).

Not much luck with the top off, no obvious 'thing' dragging on the drum. It's all a bit packed in too:

OK, off with the sides, this entails getting the front panel off, which means off with the door and the bottom kick plate. Then screws on the front, top and back of the sides.

I notice when I take the front off that they've provided a spare bulb in a small recess in the top of the front, just above the door. That's a nice touch I think, then later find out that the bulb had managed to unscrew itself over the years and fall out. I screw it back in so it can start it's next 10 year journey wandering out of the holder.


OK, we can see more now, it's all quite neat and well made. Still no obvious culprit and the CCSS is still there. There's nothing touching the drum that I can see and it sounds like it coming from the bearing area. OK, can we see the bearings? Well, yes we can if we take the rear cover off.

Under that metal plate is the rear bearing:

There's a gap around the bearing and in there I see what looks like the source of the CCSS. It looks like a clip or spring has fallen off and is now dragging on the back of the drum. I try to put it back where it came from but it doesn't seem to want to fit back. Then I wonder if it should actually be in the dryer at all, an suddenly realise what it is. It's an underwire from a bra. There's just enough room to get it out. The culprit:

This wire had managed, presumably, to get itself out of its bra and then poke into a hole at the back of the drum, then sit wrapped round the bearing until it decided to make the CCSS. I think this may have happened a while ago as there has been a scraping sound when the dryer is on which I thought was just how it sounded. Maybe it's been there for ages and something recently caused it to go on a wander and then get caught and make the CCSS.

Anyway, re-assembly is the reverse of dis-assembly, as they say, and I put it all back together. CCSS gone and the drying continues. So not a fix really as nothing was broken or replaced, but the problem has gone.

Carbon brushes look ok for now and are an easy replacement.
Condenser cleaned.
Filters cleaned.
Oh yes, and the light inside now works...