Imagine having to deal with a Samsung dryer making grinding noise. It must be very infuriating, and you can’t help but want to silence it – something you can do if you know what to check.
A Samsung dryer often makes a grinding noise due to weighty load, trapped metal objects, loose dryer belts, blower wheel or motor fault, worn support rollers, drum slides, idler pulley, drum bearings, or felt seal.
If you can go through all these ten checks, you should be able to find the reason behind the annoying grinding sound and fix it. In that case, you wouldn’t have to call a dryer expert or replace your dryer.
Overall, a grinding sound isn’t a good thing as it could be pointing to a component failure, which, if neglected, could cause your dryer to fail completely. So, you can’t ignore this sound.
Let’s now discuss the ten issues and their fixes.
In a hurry? Below is a table summary of the ten reasons Samsung dryers make the grinding sound and their quick troubleshooting.
Samsung Dryer Making Grinding Noise – Quick Troubleshooting Guide
| – | Probable Cause | Quick Fix |
| 1. | Weighty Load | Keep the dryer ¾ full and remove bulky items. |
| 2. | Trapped Metal Objects | Remove foreign metal objects like keys, screws, belt buckles, and coins. |
| 3. | Loose Dryer Belt | Replace the dryer belt if it’s loose. |
| 4. | Blower Wheel Fault | Clear lint obstruction from the blower, and if the blower wheel is loose, replace it |
| 5. | Motor Fault | Replace the motor if the motor bearings, pulley, or switch are faulty. |
| 6. | Worn Support Rollers | Replace the support rollers if they appear worn out. |
| 7. | Worn Drum Slides | Replace the drum glides if they appear worn out. |
| 8. | Worn Idler Pulley | Replace an aged idler pulley. |
| 9. | Worn Drum Bearings | Replace damaged drum bearings. |
| 10. | Worn Felt Seal | Replace a worn-out felt seal. |
Why Does My Samsung Dryer Make a Grinding Noise?
Your Samsung dryer might be making a grinding sound for different reasons. Here are the most likely ones:
1. Weighty Load
It’s generally not advisable to put too much load into the dryer. The recommended threshold is often ¾ drum full. If you go past that, it translates to an overload, which may overwork the dryer and cause it to become noisy.
Also, you’ve to consider the type of laundry you are drying. If items such as heavy towels and blankets are too bulky, they may result in a grinding noise or any other Samsung dryer noise.
Fix
If the dryer drum is over ¾ full, reduce the load size. And if there are any bulky items, such as heavy towels and blankets, remove them from the dryer.
2. Trapped Metal Objects
Metal objects like loose screws, belt buckles, keys, and coins may produce a metal grinding sound if trapped inside the dryer drum. Since they are metallic, they’ll grind against the drum’s metal parts, which could be the reason behind the scraping sound.
Fix
Inspect the drum to identify any trapped metal objects. If there are any, remove them. Remember, you’ve to stop the dryer to do this check.
3. Loose Dryer Belt
The dryer belt shouldn’t be loose. If it is, it’ll slip off the drum, which may produce a grinding sound when that happens. The other effect is that your Samsung dryer may have problems spinning and drying the clothes.
Overall, the dryer belt starts to loosen when it ages, and this is something you can tell from visually examining it.
Fix
Examine the dryer belt and replace it if it’s loose.
4. Blower Wheel Fault
The blower wheel’s job is to circulate hot air throughout the drum. Sometimes, however, the blower wheel becomes obstructed by lint or even cloth, and when this happens, it struggles to circulate air and may make some grinding noise.
Note that an obstruction isn’t the only thing that could interfere with the performance of the blower. The blower wheel may also loosen from aging, and when it does, it struggles to distribute hot air in the drum and may become noisy as a result.
Fix
Inspect the blower wheel for any obstruction and clear the block. If the blower wheel is loose, replace it or find someone to do it for you.
5. Motor Fault
The motor rotates two critical dryer parts: the drum and the blower. If the motor is faulty, these two parts may fail to spin, so your dryer won’t do its job.
That’s, however, not the only thing that could go wrong. You also have to worry about the noise as the motor may make a grinding sound. Overall, a dryer motor may fail in three ways:
- First, the motor bearings may wear out, and if so, the dryer makes a soft grinding or squeaking sound
- Second, the motor switch may fail, and if it does, the dryer’s noise switch between a humming and a grinding sound
- Third, the motor pulley could be faulty, and if so, the sound may turn to a loud rattling noise or vibration
Fix
Inspect the motor bearings for wear and do the same for the motor pulley. If that’s the case, replace the entire motor assembly. As for the motor switch, check it with a multimeter. If it lacks continuity, replace the motor assembly.
6. Worn Support Rollers
The support rollers, which you find on the drum’s exterior, support the drum on its rear side. They are often exposed to constant friction by the rotating drum. In consequence, they’ll fail at some point.
When they do, the drum may have difficulty spinning or even worse. It may start making some noise, which could be a grinding sound.
Fix
Inspect the support rollers for wear and replace them if that’s the case.
7. Worn Slides or Drum Glides
The slides or drum glides are tiny plastic parts that support the drum from its front and allow it to slide on them as it rotates. Due to the friction between the two, the drum glides wear out over time.
When they do, the dryer drum will have difficulty spinning, and the dryer will also become noisy. One of the sounds that the dryer may make due to worn-out slides is a grinding sound.
Fix
Inspect the slides for wear and replace them if that’s the case. Do this if your Samsung dryer has difficulty spinning.
8. Worn Idler Pulley
The idler pulley is another component that could trigger the grinding sound once it wears out. The idler pulley gives the dryer belt the needed tension to enable it to turn the drum and prevent it from slipping off.
If the pulley is worn out (which may happen over time due to constant friction), it can be deafening. Sometimes, the noise may turn into a loud scraping or thumping sound.
In addition to having a noisy Samsung dryer idler pulley, the dryer may have difficulty spinning.
Fix
Locate the idler pulley close to the dryer pulley and inspect it for wear. If that’s the case, replace the pulley.
9. Worn Drum Bearings
The drum bearings are plastic parts like the drum slides, which support the drum as it spins. They also wear out from the friction between them and the drum, and when they do, the drum struggles to turn and becomes noisy.
So, your Samsung dryer could be making the grinding sound because the drum bearings are defective.
Fix
You can tell if the drum bearings are the problem by manually turning the drum. If there’s some resistance, the bearings could be at fault. So, inspect the drum bearings for wear and replace them if that’s so.
10. Worn Felt Seal
Lastly, consider that the dryer’s felt seal could be worn out. This dryer component cushions the dryer against the bulkhead and averts excessive air escape into the drum.
Overall, clothes may start sticking into the gaps that the felt seal creates when it wears out, and that is not good for your laundry.
Fix
Inspect the felt seal for wear. If so, replace it.
Brand New Samsung Dryer Making Grinding Noise
There isn’t much to check if a brand-new Samsung dryer is making a grinding sound. It’s less likely to be a worn-out component. However, it could be a loading issue, where the laundry is too much or too heavy for the dryer.
If that’s not it, the grinding noise could be due to trapped metallic objects like loose screws, belt buckles, keys, or coins. And if that’s not it, it could be due to a loose dryer belt or blower, which needs replacing.
Samsung Front Load Dryer Making Grinding Noise
Consider that your Samsung dryer front-load dryer might be making a grinding sound due to one of these issues:
- Laundry overload or extra-bulky load
- Trapped metal objects like loose screws, broken zippers, coins, or keys
- Loose dryer belt
- An obstructed or slack blower
- Worn-out felt seal
- Defective dryer motor
- Worn drum support components such as drum slides, drum bearings, or support rollers
Samsung Dryer Making Loud Rumbling Noise
Your Samsung dryer makes a loud rumbling noise because something is wrong. It could be that the dryer is out of balance and thus shaky as it spins.
If that’s not the case, the loud rumbling could be due to a wobbly drum, which happens when its support components like the drum slides, drum bearings, or support rollers wear out.
You also have to inspect the idler pulley for wear and the blower for looseness or lint obstruction. Any of those issues could cause your Samsung dryer to roar.
Samsung Dryer Making Loud Squeaking Noise
You can expect your Samsung dryer to make a squeaking noise due to any of these issues:
- Unsteadiness – in case the dryer is sitting on an uneven surface or if its feet are out of balance
- Laundry overload – when the dryer’s capacity exceeds ¾ drum full
- Defective dryer belt
- Worn idler pulley
- Defective drum bearings
Concluding Thought:
Above is a quick guide to troubleshooting a Samsung dryer making grinding noise. As seen, the dryer could be making a grinding noise due to excessive loading, an obstructed drum, a wobbly dryer belt, or an issue with the blower wheel, motor, support rollers, drum glides, idler pulley, bearings, and felt seal.
You can thus go ahead and determine which of the ten issues relates to your Samsung dryer and try troubleshooting it. At least do that before you call a dryer expert.
Also Read: