There’s nothing better than putting on some clothes that are warm right out of the dryer. There’s also nothing worse than putting on clothes that are still damp right out of the dryer. When your Beko washer dryer combination is not drying the clothes properly, it can be quite frustrating.
The cause of the clothes remaining damp could be because the heating element is not working, or there is a problem with the condenser. To know how to fix the problem, you will need to do some troubleshooting to narrow things down.
In this article, I will give you some places to look first so you can identify and potentially fix the problem before you have to call for an appliance service technician. If these tips don’t work, you may need to buy a new washing machine or dryer.
How a washer dryer works
When you understand how a washer dryer combination works then you will be able to understand how it could possibly not be working. They work differently than a tumble dryer so the troubleshooting has to correspond to what it actually is.
During the wash, the appliance will spin to remove the excess water from the clothing while also drawing in air from the room, heating it and circulating the hot air around the clothes. The moisture is then pulled away from the tub and into a cooled condenser. The condenser will collect the moisture and let the air flow back into the tub to be recirculated with less humidity and heated up again.
Once the wash spin cycle is over, then the dryer function comes on and fully dries the clothing with the same process as before. The clothes are not as wet as they were so they dry properly and quickly.
This is why there should be an order in which to check the process so that you can go through the most likely causes and proceed until you find the one that works to fix the problem.
Common reasons that the clothes are not drying completely
To make sure that you are not spending money needlessly or wasting time by starting with the most difficult solution first, we should go over some of the most common reasons the clothing remains damp. Sometimes it isn’t even a technical problem but something you may be doing that results in damp clothing.
Overloaded washing machine
After your clothes are washed, the washer needs to spin them to get as much moisture out of them as possible. this is the case even when you have a tumble dryer that you would put the clothes into after removing them from the washing machine. If they are dripping wet during the spin cycle, you risk the motor burning out as the weight of the wet clothes will put a strain on it. The clothes will also not get as dry as they should if they stay too wet when the dry cycle begins.
It’s important to read the care labels for instructions on how to wash the articles before you start the wash. The label will indicate the setting that is best. You should also refer to the user manual to understand how much you can load before you risk having wet clothes.
One of the downsides of a washer dryer combo is that they can’t handle as much of a load as a freestanding washer. The result is owners typically end up overloading it since they aren’t used to the diminished capacity of washer dryers as they are much different than tumble dryer.
In fact, you should try to avoid using the non-stop feature since this is probably the reason that many of the loads are coming out wet. Give yourself the ability to open the washer when the load is done and remove some of the lighter items that will dry quickly by putting them on the laundry line to dry. Try to only leave half of the load in there to dry if possible. You should only be using the non-stop function when you have a very light load of less than 2 kg.
The washing machine isn’t draining
The dryer is forever connected to the washer’s problems so if your clothes are still coming out wet you will need to understand if the washer is the culprit. It is very common for the washer to not drain all of the water properly and this can lead to your clothes still sopping wet when the dry cycle is finished.
It is usually a problem related to the hoses or the drain filter being clogged. The first thing to do is to check if the hose leading to the drain pipe is bent or clogged. Since the hose is flexible it can easily get bent and water will have difficulty getting through which will leave some water in the tub.
If the hose looks clear then check the drain pump filter. This is located at the bottom right of the Beko washer dryer. You should try to open up the service panel and check the filter. There will likely still be some water inside the tub so have some towels and a shallow receptacle handy before you open things up.
- Turn off the machine by unplugging it and turning off the water supply
- Locate the service panel and open the flap
- Open the cover cap of the drain pump by turning it slowly counterclockwise
- Water will escape from the cap so be ready to clean it up with the towels
- Once the water stops then open it up and remove the filter
- Check it for coins or other small objects so water can pass through
- Reinsert the filter and close it by turning it clockwise and then close the service panel flap
You should notice a difference in how dry your clothes get now if there is less water in the tub when the wash cycle finishes.
Faulty thermostat
Thermostats control how hot the heating element will get so they are essential to making sure that the clothes get dry. A faulty thermostat will either make the clothes too hot or not heat them enough for them to get dry. If your clothes are coming out still wet and feel cool to the touch then the thermostat is to blame.
Thermostats are not too difficult to replace. You just need to refer to the user manual to locate where the thermostat is in your model and how to remove it. Have a new one ordered based on your make and model ready to go before replacing it.
Before you can use the washer dryer again you will need to reset the machine. Press and hold down the Start/Pause/Cancel button for 5 seconds and this will restart your washer dryer so you can use it again.
Dirty sensors
If you regularly use sheets of fabric softeners during the drying cycle then you are likely causing the sensors in the dryer to get a waxy substance caked on them. This will make it difficult for them to read the temperature so the thermostat doesn’t send a signal to the heating element to turn itself on.
To get around this you should stop using those sheets. In the meantime, you can run a clean cycle in the tub by using a washing machine cleaner powder that will remove the residue from the sensors.
Blocked condenser
A washer dryer combo doesn’t have a lint filter as a tumble dryer does. Instead, the lint goes into the condenser that then flushes it down a drain once the cool water enters it to keep it cool. This means that it is very likely to get clogged with lint and grime. It needs to be flushed out on occasion.
Unfortunately, to do this you will need to get inside the appliance to be able to clean it out. It isn’t difficult to do but you will need to look over the instruction manual first so you can locate it and understand how to remove and replace it.
Once the back panel of the washer dryer is removed you will see something that looks like a water tank. This is the condenser so remove it and then wash it out. Fill it with warm water and use a bottle brush to get inside and scrub out all of the grime that has built up.
Once it is clean you can replace it and put the panel back on.
Dryer drum not spinning
When the dryer drum doesn’t spin then this is going to cause most of your laundry to still be as wet as when the drying cycle began. It is connected to the motor by a drive belt. When this belt is broken or loose it will cause it to not spin.
The way to understand if it is the belt is to try to turn it by hand. If it turns without any resistance then the drive belt is the problem and needs to be replaced. When it can’t be turned easily indicates that there is a problem with the drum itself as it has seized. This will need to be repaired by an appliance repair technician but a drive belt can be fixed easily by most people.
To fix a drive belt you will need to remove the back panel after having unplugged the machine from the mains and also the water inlet supply.
- Locate the belt after removing the back panel of the washer dryer
- Using a screwdriver, remove the two screws that hold the drive belt to the washer
- Replace the belt with a new one and screw it back into place
The door didn’t close
A door that is not closed completely will eventually get loose and cause the dryer function to stop midway through a cycle. Sometimes it’s because you didn’t close the door tightly enough and other times because the clips that close the door are loose or broken.
If the door doesn’t feel like it closes well then check for the two red clips on the inside of the door assembly. If they are broken then you will need to replace them before you can use the appliance again. Unfortunately, you will need to remove the bottom panel of the washer dryer to access them to see if they are broken or not.
The thermal fuse got blown
To prevent a fire from happening at higher temperatures when there is a malfunction, your dryer is equipped with a thermal fuse. When the heating element is faulty or a thermostat is broken then the temperatures can get dangerously high which causes the fuse to blow.
When you check your instruction manual you should be able to find the fuse and replace it if it looks as though it blew.
Faulty heating element
The last thing to check is the heating element since it is the item that will be the most difficult to replace and will likely require an appliance repair technician to come and do it for you. When the machine is running, and it is turning but the clothes are still cold then it is likely the heating element. That is, if you have already determined that it isn’t because of a faulty thermostat. You’ll need to check the element itself to understand if this is the problem.
When you locate the element you should check it with a multimeter to see if the reading is normal and that it is actually working or broken. When there is a continuity reading then it means the heating element is fine. However, if it doesn’t then you know this is the problem.
If you don’t have a multimeter then look for physical cracks in the coil as this means that it is broken.
Final word
A washer dryer is great for those with small spaces or who have a very low laundry demand and often wash small loads. When you depend on yours, it can be frustrating when it doesn’t dry your clothing properly. Luckily, it isn’t usually anything to panic over and can often be fixed yourself.
