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Whirlpool Supreme dryer smells like kerosene

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Posted: Thu Jul 14th, 2005 03:59 am

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NickG
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Help? I have yet to see this problem and its driving me nuts. My dryer stinks my whole house up and it smells like a solvent. More like keroseneor something.

I took it apart and got to the blower wheel and that really smelled a lot likt he smell we're getting. I wanted to see if the motor was leaking or something, but I can't get to the motor. Can't get the wheel off and I don't see how its attached.

There has been no use of any sort of chemicals inthe house and nothing was spilled. The smell was preceeded by weeks of our towels smelling "burnt".

What could this be????

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Posted: Thu Jul 14th, 2005 04:28 am

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Pegi
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Do not have the foggiest. The motor cannot leak anything.........and since you did not tell us if this is gas or electric or even give us the model number.................

..........only thing that comes to mind is an animal: rat, snake, skunk , anything, could have gotten in the blower wheel thru the vent from the outside and died and burnt up from the heat. To remove the blower wheel hold the back of the motor shaft with a adjustable open end wrench after you remove the drum and turn the hub of the blower to the right with another wrench, the threads are reversed threads. If it will not come off that way will have to remove the vent housing and break it apart with a chisel and hammer.

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Posted: Thu Jul 14th, 2005 04:43 am

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NickG
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It is a Whirlpool Supreme electric dryer and its about five years old. I do not think anything got in there and died. I really don't. I'm looking at it right now and I can smell this "kerosene" type smell on the blower wheel and in the chute.

Do I have to remove the entire drum to get at the blower motor? The reason I ask is because the directions on how to remove the blower wheel are on a sticker that is stuck onto the lint chute right where the motor is. That made me think you got to it by disassembling it in that direction. Still, I don't see how I can get near the motor.

There is a hole in the bottom of the dryer that looks like it might be an access hole to insert a tool to stop the shaft. We tried using varios things and could get resistance on it, but not enough to turn the blower wheel loose.

Last edited on Thu Jul 14th, 2005 04:44 am by NickG

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Posted: Thu Jul 14th, 2005 04:50 am

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Pegi
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Of course you have to take the top up, the front off and the drum out to access the drive motor.!!! The motor is under the right side of the drum on the dryer floor. No one can access this motor from the base of the dryer with it all in one piece...

Perhaps someone dropped something down the dryer vent when the lint filter was out.

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Posted: Thu Jul 14th, 2005 04:53 am

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NickG
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Here are some links to the note and some pics of the blower area:

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/babies3/dryer/Note.JPG

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/babies3/dryer/BW01.JPG

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/babies3/dryer/BW02.JPG

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/babies3/dryer/BW03.JPG

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Posted: Thu Jul 14th, 2005 04:57 am

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NickG
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Pegi wrote: Of course you have to take the top up, the front off and the drum out to access the drive motor.!!!

Ok then. That;s what it looked like to me, but since I've never took one of these apart before, I wanted to double check. I'm doing this without manuals or any prior knowledge of this stuff. I've worked on a lot of things, but never a dryer.

Also, the placement of the sticker kept throwing me. I kept thinking, "Why would they put it right here if I can't even get to the blower motor from this way? This has gotta be the way to it and I'm just not seeing something."

Last edited on Thu Jul 14th, 2005 04:58 am by NickG

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Posted: Thu Jul 14th, 2005 05:04 am

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Pegi
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This shows how to take this dryer apart. The slots in the bottom of the dryer are to attach the bracket of the idler assy. Good photos!! Is it possible something got dropped down the vent housing when the lint filter was out??? Like a tube of super glue or something?? Cannot think of anything that would smell like kerosene that could get into the dryer vent without being on some clothes or something. Be sure to let us know what you find out.

Last edited on Thu Jul 14th, 2005 05:08 am by Pegi

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Posted: Thu Jul 14th, 2005 05:23 am

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NickG
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Well, I just pulled the front panel off and took a look before I take the drum out. I can see quite clearly and there is nothing in there that shouldn't be. In fact, it all looks pretty darn clean.

Glad th photos were clear. Digital cameras make for good work parteners when taking stuff apart for the first time

I think I'm just going to give it all a good cleansing and put it back together. I don't know what else to do. Whatever it is, it make the entire house smell like this. Its making me nuts.

Anyway, I appreciate the prompt responses and help. These forums are now bookmarked. What a great site!

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Posted: Thu Jul 14th, 2005 11:29 am

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nickfixit
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I would check your WASHER. I have found washers that had a huge buildups of scum (fabric softener, hair, soap deposits, mold, mildew, ect) that gave the clothes a bad smell. When put in the dryer they stink to high heaven. Also, your washer may be leaking small amounts of oil into the wash tub, the the contaminated clothes go into the dryer and create a bad smell.

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Posted: Thu Jul 14th, 2005 06:12 pm

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NickG
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Well, the washer is a 6-month old Kenmore front loader and seems to be in perfect working order with no smells in it.

Last night, I used a brush to scrub every part on that dryer with hot water and Pine Sol. I vaccummed and cleansed it of all traces of lint and made sure there was nothing left that had any scent other than the Pine Sol.

I put it back together and ran it for 15 minutes. I opened the door and there was no smell.

This morning, I came down here and went right to the dryer. I opened the door again after it sat all night and stuck my head in there. The smell is back.

I'm finsihed with it. I'm just going to run the bajeezus out of it and see what happens.

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Posted: Thu Jul 14th, 2005 08:06 pm

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Pegi
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Hummmmm, perhaps it is not your dryer but the dryer vent where it goes outside??? Perhaps there is something in the vent or at the end of it, like someone dropped a rag or there is a can of something that is letting the fumes migrate up the vent and into the dryer when it is off???

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Posted: Thu Jul 14th, 2005 08:38 pm

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NickG
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Vent is clear. Trust me, I am truly going bonkers. I have a hole in my scalp from scratching my head over this.

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Posted: Thu Jul 14th, 2005 08:42 pm

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Pegi
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Ok, the air intake for dryers can be several places, like thru the slots in the back panel, under the front bottom panel, etc. The dryer is drawing air in from the surrounding area. Look close around you, what do you see that the dryer could be drawing fumes into itself from......

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Posted: Thu Jul 14th, 2005 08:54 pm

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NickG
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There is absolutely nothing near the dryer, nor in my basement, that is putting off these fumes.

If I were someone else listening to this like you, I would swear that "this guy is just not covering all the bases", but there is nothing in here that is making this smell.

I'm drying a load of towels right now. I put for "Bounce" sheets in with them and they're about done. Time to see how bad it is....

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Posted: Thu Jul 14th, 2005 09:02 pm

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NickG
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Whelp, the towels had the scent, BUT.... it was very, very faint. The basement does not have the strong oder it did yesterday when the dryer was ran. Also, the drum smells much better.

I'm hoping it's being burned out and dried up. About to toss in another load of towels for test two....

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Posted: Thu Jul 14th, 2005 09:04 pm

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16^th Post

Pegi
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There has to be a reason for this, we cannot give up....Any one replaced the rear drum seal in this dryer??? Did you see if there was something between the blower wheel and the back of the vent housing??

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Posted: Thu Jul 14th, 2005 09:12 pm

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17^th Post

Pegi
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Good, let us know how this comes out. Perhaps lots of bounce sheets will finally get the odor out of the dryer.

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Posted: Thu Jul 14th, 2005 09:19 pm

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NickG
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Pegi wrote: ...Did you see if there was something between the blower wheel and the back of the vent housing??

Nothing. I had this thing in as many pieces as it could be last night LOL!!

By the way, I did find this:

http://forum.doityourself.com/archive/index.php/t-22739.html

But it states what you said about the origin of the smell.

You know what? We got home from vacation a few days ago and the house smelled like this when we walked in. I just now asked our 19-year old daughter if she used any products out of the ordinary. She said she cleaned the kichen floor and used Murphy's oil soap. When I looked at the bottle, I noticed that it was almost empty. She used WAY too much.

BUT... the product does not smell like the scent we're getting. And, the floor that was washed is not even on the same level as the dryer. As a puzzle, the pieces seem like they would fit, but I still believe that it isn't the source.

As of now, the smell is much, much less than before. We may be getting closer....

If nothing else, I sure learned a lot. Now I see why these guys pick up appliances from the garbage and fix them. There really aint much too 'em!

I surely do appreciate all the help. I will keep you posted as to the status of this "quest" LOL

Last edited on Thu Jul 14th, 2005 09:20 pm by NickG

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Posted: Thu Jul 14th, 2005 09:32 pm

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Pegi
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Hummmmm, now we are getting somewhere. Something in the house is putting the fumes in the dryer and the heating element is causing it to turn into a different smell. Ask more questions. The cleaning towels or something could have been tossed into the washer or dryer that was used with the soap or something else. I thing something was done to cause this while you were gone...do more sluthing........

"""oil based product will do this""" did this soap have oil in it??? What else was used in the home.....

Last edited on Thu Jul 14th, 2005 09:35 pm by Pegi

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Posted: Fri Jul 15th, 2005 06:13 am

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NickG
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So here I am, a few laundry loads later. The dryer has definitely improved and things seem ok with it for now.

BUT... as I sit on this computer only about 15 feet from the dryer, I am getting that strong odor again!!! It is not in the dryer. The origin is somewhere in the house and I can only smell it inthe basement. My basement is not big. I live in a quad level. It's only half the house. About 20 X 26 feet. I have stuck my nose in every nook, cranny, and over the entire basement and I can NOT find where this is coming from.

I'll be sitting here and get a whiff of it. I'll turn my head to try and pinpoint the direction and it kinda goes away.

I realize there is nothing anyone can do to help. I just needed to vent (no pun intended) and I decided to do it here LOL!!!

What the #*(+)(@# is this smell???????????????

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