I Took On Mr. Roper

And I won!  Meet Mr. Roper.  He's my dryer.  He's old, but works hard...until he breaks.  So far, he is 9 years old and has had a belt replaced.  Mr. Roper decided to break down on me on my FIRST load of laundry after I had put off an extra week of not doing laundry.  Waiting for hubby to have time to fix it was NOT an option.  The kids would have worn dirty clothes the next day if I didn't get it fixed.

So, with my can do attitude, I pulled up Youtube and searched for a video on how to replace the heating element.  (I knew the heating element went out, because it was turning the load, but no heat was coming out).  And guess what?  I found one for the exact part number!

I spent less than 5 minutes watching this, then I was off to the Sears Parts store, picked up the new heating element for $66 and came home to tackle this on my own.

I unplugged the dryer, pulled it out and ewwww!  This is the back of my dryer.  I immediately vacuumed.  Then I detached the dryer vent.

Ahhh, much better.  I removed the black panel to get to the heating element.

Not much back there.  Not intimidated at all!  Especially because there are not that many wires.

I vacuumed the inside of the dryer, I swear I end up doing that every few years.  Anways, I located the heating element and detached the wires and removed it.

Yup, definitely the heating element.  That is one fried piece of equipment.  There shouldn't be any black, see.

Brand new heating element.  Nice and shiny!  Anyways, I installed it according to that awesome Youtube video and put everything back together and fixed the dryer vent.  It had a small hole in it near where it attached to the back of the dryer, so I shortened it by about 4 inches. 

All in all, totally worth it!  Start to finish, 45 minutes and $66.  It took so long partially because of a two year old attempting to help and needing to fix the vent.  I have a fully functioning dryer and had a mountain of clean, warm laundry to fold.  YAY! 

Disclaimer:  I am not a professional, just a girl with a can do attitude and refusal to pay someone to do something I can easily do myself.  If you are unsure of any type of home improvement, please consult a professional.  Repeat, I am not a professional!