There's nothing quite like throwing a basket full of wet clothes in the dryer only to find it won't start. While there are numerous reasons why your appliance suddenly decided to take a day off, here are a couple of easy to diagnose issues that may be causing the problem.

1. The Door Switch Is Broken

Almost all dryers have a switch on the door that tells the machine whether the door is open or closed and will only allow the dryer to turn on if the door is in the closed position. Since this door is constantly in use, it's not unusual for it to be the first thing to fail in your appliance. Thus, you should start your investigation into why your dryer is not turning on with figuring out whether the door switch is working properly.

Do a visual inspection to ensure the switch hasn't been physically damaged. This is particularly important to do if you have young children since they tend to stuff small items in places they don't belong. If you're having trouble closing the door or the latch seems damaged, then search for and remove any foreign objects or have someone fix the latch first before going further.

If the latch seems fine, the next step is to test the switch to ensure it's actually sending signals to the machine. You can quickly test this by closing the door and listening for a clicking sound. The light inside your dryer should also come on when you open the door. Lastly, try programming the dryer and listening for the timer motor to turn on. If none of these things happens, then the dryer switch is the problem. You can confirm this by testing the switch with a multimeter to measure electrical activity and replace the defective part if there isn't any.

2. The Thermal Fuse Has Blown

Another reason why your dryer may fail to turn on is because the thermal fuse has blown. Similar to how the fuses in your electrical box respond to power surges, the thermal fuse in your dryer is a safety device that designed to go off whenever the dryer's temperature gets too hot. Thus, if your dryer overheated at some point, it could have blown a fuse, preventing it from being turned on again.

This is an easy fix. Simply consult your owner's manual for the location of the fuse and replace it. However, you should investigate why the fuse blew in the first place and get that problem fixed before using your dryer again.

For help fixing a broken dryer, contact a company like Golden State Equipment Repair in your area.