gas dryer smells like kerosene


  #1  
Old 07-31-00, 08:20 AM
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My gas dryer had been working fine and then suddenly it began to smell very strongly of kerosene, or exhaust. The odor is coming from the inside of the dryer, and the clothes also smelled very strongly of kerosene. There was nothing in the load of clothes that could have produced this odor; also, the inside of the dryer does not smell until the gas comes on, and then it immediately begins to smell. Could this have something to do with the exhaust? The dryer seems to be venting to the outside as well as before the odor started.
 
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Old 07-31-00, 06:45 PM
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Hi:kkflemin

The kerosene odor is nothing to worry about.
It's a common problem and the result of some petroleum product recently used in the home. Could be an oil based paint, a stain, wood finishing or sealer product, etc.

Any product that contains a flammable solvent or oil based product will do this. I bet you had one of those products used in the home? Prior to this, the dryer odor didn't exist and it will be gone as soon as the product dries.

Best thing to do is ventilate the house as best as possible. For the dryer, once the drying cycle is completed, set the control to AIR FLUFF for ten minutes. This will clear the odor from the clothes. Don't 4get to switch the control back to the regularly used dry setting when done.

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Last edited by Sharp Advice; 12-31-07 at 02:48 PM.
  #3  
Old 12-31-07, 11:32 AM
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Talking Gas stove smells like kerosene

Thanks so much for the helpful information! This happened to our gas stove. New Years Eve saved me a 250 service call! I would have never know this would happen! We have been painting and staining in our basement and I thought we had a gas leak. Propane company said to call a small appliance repair that they couldnt help us but your post solved the problem! Thanks a bunch and Happpy New Year. God Bless The Internet!
 
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Old 05-14-08, 09:46 PM
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Question Gas Dryer smells like charcoal

My husband and I are trying to solve the same or similar problem. Our dryer emits a charcoal smell, I said. Scott said it smells like excellerant(sp?) and placed the can of mineral spirits outside. I suppose it could be like the smell of kerosene. We have just refinished our wood floors upstairs, but the dryer is downstairs. Have the fumes really moved so far as to reach and effect the dryer ? Will the smell go away as the aeration diminishes ? If this is the case then we have also saved a lot of money with the posting from the "Sharp Advice" Gas Appliance Technician !!
 
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Old 05-14-08, 10:37 PM
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If you have just refinished your floors,you can rest assured it has had an effect on your gas dryer.I had the same issue,called the gas company and they explained that this is a common occurence.In a few days the smell will disipate.
 
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Old 05-15-08, 02:33 AM
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Have been on calls that the people next door were painting and and there dryer had a smell. Dryer draw in a lot of air and will pick up any smell around,
 
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Old 08-31-08, 10:21 AM
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Thumbs up gas dryer smells like kerosene

Thank you sooooo much for this information. Last weekend I started refinishing our dining room table. I purchased "odorless" or "environmental friendly" products and vented the room I was working in. Immediately last weekend my dryer started smelling like a strong solvent and the clothes were horrible!

I was out of town during week, but when I returned home and changed laundry over, I discovered that my college-age daughter had done a load of laundry and her laundry smelled great! I thought our problem was over.

I then spent two days this weekend putting a finishing coat on the table and the odor reappeared in the dryer.

I was beginning to think the refinishing and the dryer odor were related so I pulled the dryer manual. It mentioned being sure not to stain or paint near the dryer because it would pull the odors in. It did not, however, mention that odors from another floor in the house could be pulled in also.

Your post enlightened me. Also, I was glad to read that putting the clothes on "fluff" after the drying cycle would remove the smell.

Again, thanks soooo much for your post. It saved me a service call!
 
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Old 03-22-09, 01:08 PM
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Gas dryer and burnt smell (charcoal, exhaust, etc) fixed!

I had this issue as well and discovered the following to fix it:

Make sure that your dryer exhaust is well sealed.

What happened: as other mentioned above, the intake vent pulls in whatever air is available regardless how it smells. In this case, since the vent seals weren't tight, they were pulling the the stinky exhaust air and putting it back in my laundry. This repetitive accumulation gave my clothes that exhaust smell.

How I fixed it: the exhaust port on my dryer is recessed about 5-10 inches into the back of the dryer which is a real challenge to make adjustments to the hose. So any maintenance to replacing the hose, or replacing it is really a pain.

So, I spent the extra cash and time and did the following: bought a pair of key hose clamps for the tube/hose for each end (most use a screw driver) of the where the tube connects to the wall and dryer fittings; foil tape; a second steel HVAC connector for the back of the dryer which is easier to insert than the flimsy foil tube alone.
  1. I separated the vent tube from the wall and the dryer and used the key hose clamp to seal it tight around the HVAC connector.
  2. I inserted the connector into the back of the dryer and use tabs of foil tape to hold it in place. Once there was little "wiggle" in the connection, I think used longer pieces to fully seal the HVAC extender/connector to the back of the dryer.
  3. I reconnected the hose to the exterior wall using the the second key hose clamp (if you have this vent recessed like I do, a hardware shop should have a connector that will insert inside to use a key clamp).
  4. Important: turn on your dryer and use your hand to feel for any drafts. Even after I did all this I found an extra leak which I sealed with foil tape.

My laundry has been exhaust free since. Beer 4U2

Notes:
  • Also, make sure the tube is a short as possible. The longer the tube, the more the dryer has to work to ventilate itself. Otherwise the air flow slows or stops and will not leave the dryer. I extended the tube as long as possible so it would be easy to work with, then once connected on both ends, scrunched to as short as possible.
  • Dry with smaller loads to ensure proper internal flow.
  • Dry with like materials and fabric weights (don't mix underwear with heavy bath towels, jeans, etc) to have drying times consistent.
  • Only use foil tape. Duct tape tends to dry out and can get gummy. Foil tape is SUPER adhesive and won't crack.
 
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Old 03-28-09, 07:26 PM
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The easy way to make the vent connection to a dryer is to use a sheet metal elbow of suitable size connected upo to the rest of the vent line. Then just push the elbow onto the vent termination of the dryer.

No drama needed!
 
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Old 11-01-09, 03:08 PM
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kerosene smell won't go away

We had lots of work done in the house—hardwood floors, painting, etc.—at least six weeks ago, and we had the kerosene smell in our gas dryer and our gas range. Made a service call and was told the same stuff. Problem is, we had the house open for weeks and the smell is still here. It's too chilly now to keep things open, but when the house is closed up, the smell from the dryer and the range is still strong. Any ideas about what we can do?
 
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Old 01-16-10, 08:13 AM
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This thread has given me some hope, but...

We had our hardwood floors refinished and now our gas dryer is unusable due to the strong exhaust smell it creates when it is drying. Thought it was just a bad coincidence that the dryer broke the same week that we spent $$ on our floors, but maybe not?

Anyway, my question is how long does it usually take for the dryer to return to normal? We have been ventilating the house every day (even though it is freezing) and even have put a fan in the laundry room to blow air out of it all day. It is still emitting a powerful exhaust smell the moment I turn it on. Does it usually take days or weeks to return to normal??

Thanks...
 
  #12  
Old 01-16-10, 08:22 AM
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Your dryer is not broken. We had our floors done in September, and there is still a faint odor when we use our gas oven, gas stovetop or gas dryer. The higher the setting, the stronger the smell. We had our windows open to ventilate through November, and there is still a faint smell. All of our flooring is engineered wood, so lots of glue was used. We are told it will pass, but it is so hard to be patient!
 
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Old 01-16-10, 04:17 PM
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Smell will probably stay with dryer the longest, Dryers take in a lot of air and anything in house that has oders it will pick up.
 
  #14  
Old 01-20-10, 05:17 AM
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Originally Posted by pugsl
Smell will probably stay with dryer the longest, Dryers take in a lot of air and anything in house that has oders it will pick up.
Update; it took about four days and now we are no longer noticing the smell when we dry the clothes (thank goodness).

BTW when we were having the problem, running the dryer with AIR FLUFF only after the clothes were dry worked great for removing the smell.
 
 

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