ApplianceMaintenance.center (844) 879-5178Mon–Sat, 8am–8pm Book a visit
A clean home laundry room with a front-loading washer and a matching vented machine side by side on a light tile floor, the vented machine pulled a short way out from the wall, a technician seen only from behind and shoulders down feeding a long flexible duct brush into the round exhaust opening in the wall, a coil of silver semi-rigid duct on the floor beside him, soft daylight.

Laundry Maintenance

Upkeep for washers, dryers and the exhaust run behind them: lint paths cleared, drain filters and door boots cleaned, supply hoses inspected before they give way.

(844) 879-5178

Mon–Sat, 8am–8pm

  • 4 things that fail on it
  • 14 makes build it
  • 7 problems it shows

Book a visit

Three short steps, about a minute.

or call (844) 879-5178

Is yours
a laundry machine?

The laundry pair is the group where skipped upkeep turns into the most serious trouble. On the dryer side, the lint screen catches most of the fluff, but not all of it: the rest travels through the blower, into the transition duct behind the machine, through the wall and out to a hood with a flap outside. Every year of use leaves a layer along that path. Airflow falls, loads take a second cycle, the cabinet runs hot and the thermostats and heater work harder; in the worst case the lint itself catches. A gas dryer adds a burner with its own clean-air needs, and a condenser or heat pump dryer swaps the duct for a lint trap and a condenser that must be rinsed. On the washer side, the door boot of a front-loader holds water, lint and detergent residue in its folds, the drain pump filter behind a small door at the bottom front collects coins, hair ties and sludge, and a top-loader's tub gathers scum under the agitator where nobody looks. Behind both machines, the two rubber fill hoses on the washer carry full house water pressure around the clock. A maintenance visit on this group cleans the lint path from the screen housing to the outdoor hood, clears the drain filter, cleans the boot and the dispenser, checks the hoses and valves, and levels the washer so it stops walking.

A home laundry room with a front-loading vented machine pulled out from the wall, a technician seen only from behind and shoulders down on one knee holding a length of silver flexible duct, a thick gray mat of lint pulled from it lying in a clear bag on the floor, a round metal exhaust collar in the painted wall behind, soft daylight. What fails on a laundry machine

How to tell

01

It belongs to this group if it washes or dries clothing, towels or bedding, stacked or side by side, vented outdoors or ventless.
02

A dryer has a lint screen in the door opening or on the top panel, and either a round exhaust collar on the back or a condenser drawer and filter up front.
03

A front-loading washer has a rubber boot around the door opening and a small access door at the bottom front for the drain filter.
04

Behind the washer, two hoses run from the hot and cold valves in the wall to the back of the machine.

Not yours?Cold storageCooking appliancesDish care

What fails
on this design.

On a laundry machine: lint packed along the exhaust, door boot residue and a musty tub, drain filters holding debris, fill hoses aging behind the machine.

The problems it shows

Lint packed along the exhaust

What slips past the screen settles in the blower housing, the foil or flexible duct behind the machine and the wall run to the outside hood. Each layer steals airflow, so the dryer heats longer, the cabinet gets hotter and clothes still come out damp.

Door boot residue and a musty tub

The folds of a front-loader's rubber boot trap water, lint and softener. With the door shut between loads, that film grows mildew that shows as black spots and a smell that comes out in the clean laundry.

Drain filters holding debris

The small filter ahead of the drain pump collects coins, hair and pocket debris. When it fills, water drains slowly, the spin cannot finish, and loads come out wetter than they should.

Fill hoses aging behind the machine

Rubber supply hoses harden and swell near their fittings over the years, under full water pressure at all times. A hose that bulges or weeps at the crimp is a flood waiting for the day nobody is home.

Getting at it,
and whether to.

Clear the floor in front of the washer and dryer and anything stored on top, so both can be pulled out and the hoses and duct reached.

What services cost

On the visit

  1. Tell us whether the dryer runs on gas or electricity, and how the exhaust leaves the house: wall, roof, crawl space or a long run through a closet.
  2. Mention a stacked pair, a closet install or a second-floor laundry room, which changes what has to move and how.
  3. Have towels and a shallow pan handy for the washer's drain filter, which always lets out some water when it is opened.

Repair or replace

Laundry upkeep is the cheapest insurance in the house: a clear exhaust run shortens every drying cycle, eases the heater and cuts the risk of a lint fire, and a pair of fresh hoses costs a fraction of one flooded floor. A washer or dryer that is kept clean and level usually lasts well past a decade. If the visit finds a heater that has failed, bearings that roar or a pump that has seized, that is a repair, and our sister washer or dryer repair site picks it up.

Book a visit for a laundry machine

The problems
it shows.

On a laundry machine, most often hot or burning lint smell in the laundry room: stop the cycle.

All problems
A quiet home laundry room with a front-loading vented machine standing still, its door closed and its display dark, a faint thin haze of pale smoke hanging near the round metal exhaust collar on the wall behind it, a crushed silver foil duct visible at the back, the power cord unplugged and lying on the floor, seen from the doorway. Fire, gas, water or wiring risk

Hot or Burning Lint Smell in the Laundry Room: Stop the Cycle

6 causes, cheapest first

 A home laundry room with a front-loading vented machine standing open after a finished cycle, a pile of towels in a basket in front of it visibly still damp and heavy, a lint screen held out of its slot and covered with a thick gray layer resting on the machine's top, soft daylight.

Laundry Taking Two Cycles to Dry: The Lint Path Is Usually Why

6 causes, cheapest first

 Close view of the open door of a white front-loading washer in a home laundry room, the gray rubber door boot folded back to show dark mildew spots and a line of lint trapped in its fold, the empty stainless drum behind, soft daylight.

Laundry Drum Smelling Musty: Door Boot, Drain Filter and Detergent

6 causes, cheapest first

 Low view behind a front-loading washer pulled slightly away from the wall in a home laundry room, a black rubber fill hose with a visible swollen bulge near its fitting and a thin stream of water spraying from it onto a tile floor, a spreading puddle, the hot and cold wall valves above. Fire, gas, water or wiring risk

Supply Hose Leaking or Bulging Behind an Appliance: Shut the Water Off

6 causes, cheapest first

 An open gray electrical panel door on a garage wall, one breaker in the row sitting in the tripped middle position, a white upright freezer standing dark and silent on the concrete floor nearby, soft daylight from a side window. Fire, gas, water or wiring risk

Appliance Tripping the Breaker Every Time It Runs

5 causes, cheapest first

 A home kitchen counter in soft daylight with a small plain white plug-in energy meter with a blank dark screen plugged into a wall outlet beside a stainless refrigerator, the refrigerator's kick plate at the bottom visibly furred with dust.

Appliance Energy Use Creeping Up With Nothing Else Changed

6 causes, cheapest first

 Close view of the dark control panel of a built-in steam oven set into light kitchen cabinetry, one abstract droplet-shaped reminder icon glowing amber among unlit symbols, the stainless door blurred below, soft daylight.

Appliance Maintenance Code or Reminder Light: Filter, Descale, Vent Check

8 causes, cheapest first

Who builds
a laundry machine.

14 of the makes on this site build a laundry machine. Each mark opens that make's own page.

All 35 brands

Laundry maintenance,
where we come out.

9 metros, each with its own page.

All service areas

Tampa BayFL · 31 areas

OrlandoFL · 30 areas

Miami / South FloridaFL · 47 areas

New York MetroNY · 75 areas

HoustonTX · 36 areas

ChicagoIL · 50 areas

Los AngelesCA · 95 areas

San DiegoCA · 31 areas

San Francisco Bay AreaCA · 74 areas

A family sharing breakfast in a bright, well-kept home kitchen.
For the heart of your home.

Questions about
laundry machines.

How often should the exhaust run behind the laundry be cleaned?
At least once a year for most households, and sooner for a big family, a long or bending run, or a roof vent. The lint screen itself is cleared after every load; the annual job covers everything past it, all the way to the outside hood.
Is foil or plastic ducting behind the machine a problem?
Thin plastic and foil accordion ducts sag, crush and trap lint, and many makers and fire safety guides warn against them. A rigid or semi-rigid metal transition, kept as short and straight as the space allows, is the usual correction.
When should the rubber fill hoses on the laundry be replaced?
Many makers suggest every five years, or at once if a hose shows bulges, cracks or damp at a fitting. Braided stainless hoses resist bursting better, and the valves in the wall should turn freely so the water can be shut off quickly.

Back to your everyday

Is it a laundry machine?

Say so when you book — it changes what the technician brings and how the visit is planned.

Schedule maintenance Call (844) 879-5178
(844) 879-5178 Schedule maintenance