Why is my gas dryer not getting hot enough to dry clothes?

My gas dryer gets warm, but not hot enough to dry clothes in a single cycle. It takes a second or third time to get completely dry now. I have checked the exhaust vent outside and there seems to be plenty of air flowing out when the dryer is on. We clean the lint trap after every load. Is there some routing maintenane I can try to get it working normally again? It does seem to be getting warm so I am sure that something is just not working to it's fullest potential.

Certainly something is wrong and it is either your thermostat not calling for enough heat or your burner. I would pull off the front sheet metal below the door which almost certainly is held on by sheet metal screws point towards the floor. This will allow you to see the burner below the drum. You need to leave the door intact because of the safety switch or the dryer will not run and the drum rests on the door assembly. Activate the dryer and see if the flame once it ignites appears hearty and sizable or weak and discolored. It is entirely possible that the burner nozzle has become carboned up and a cleaning with a wire brush will help restore full gas flow. Failing this, I would lean towards the gas valves which are electro-magnetic and are pulled up to allow gas to flow. These become sticky and won't open fully which doesn't give you full heat. Frankly, this is what I suspect since I have replaced mine for the same problem. Certainly well within the reach of a do it yourselfer. Here is a trouble shooting chart to help you: http://www.acmehowto.com/howto/appliance...

could be the thermostat

Why is my gas dryer not getting hot enough to dry clothes?

My gas dryer gets warm, but not hot enough to dry clothes in a single cycle. It takes a second or third time to get completely dry now. I have checked the exhaust vent outside and there seems to be plenty of air flowing out when the dryer is on. We clean the lint trap after every load. Is there some routing maintenane I can try to get it working normally again? It does seem to be getting warm so I am sure that something is just not working to it's fullest potential.

Check the lint trap and clean it out

you probably need a new heating element.

the exhaust duct is probably clogged. tear it out and replace it

had the same thing happen to me about 6 months ago. it seemed like it had plenty of air flow outside at the outlet bet i guess it was not enough. pulled apart the vent and it was only 1/2 inch thick but that was all it took to prevent the close from drying. if you have a long run more then just coming out of the dryer and out make sure that you are using smooth vent pipe and not the flex pipe all the way. try to use as little of the flex as you can. the more smooth pipe and shorter the run the faster it will dry. if you have one of those remote digital oven thermometer's stick in the dryer and run it for a few to see what temp it is running at. and that will tell you if the temp sensor is ok or bad usually there are two sensors. one for high and one for low. on low it should be 110 or 115 degrees, and on high 140 degrees.
good luck

It sounds like your "heating element" is going bad. Heater elements are inexpensive; it's a cheap repair. I hope your dryer gets better soon! :-)

you might want to call an appliance repairman. You got to make sure the water column of the gas intake is enough. you got to make sure you have 110v to run the dryer(sounds like you do). and then you got ta make sure the heating element/blower is working in the dryer.