The Speed Queen brand prides itself on reliability and manufacturing long-lasting products. But even the best-built machines break down from time to time.
One of the most common problems with any electric dryer—including Speed Queen dryers—is heating. Either the appliance no longer heats enough to dry clothing all the way through or it gets so hot that it risks igniting a fire in your home.
Fortunately, Speed Queen dryers come with a small red reset button on one of their thermostats, which you can find on top of the heating assembly box.
This post will explain how to access this reset button, what it’s good for, and what to do instead if pressing it doesn’t fix your machine.
Where Is the Reset Button On My Speed Queen Dryer?
Like most other dryer models, Speed Queen dryers come with a way to reset the thermostat.
Your Speed Queen dryer should have a small red button on one of the thermostats. You can find this thermostat in the middle of the heating element box.
If all you want to do is press the reset button, then it’s pretty easy in this dryer.
How to Access the Speed Queen Gas Dryer Reset Button
Unlike many other dryers, you access the thermostat in this model by removing the front of the dryer rather than the back:
As always: Unplug your dryer first! We wouldn’t recommend trying to perform repairs after an accidental electric shock. Pull the power cord before you start.
Toward the bottom front of the dryer, there’s a small rectangular panel that spans the bottom. Unscrew and remove this panel.
From here, look into the bottom left side of the dryer. All the way to the back, you’ll see two cylindrical components on top of a silver box. These are the thermostats.
Reach in under the dryer drum and press the red button on the right-side thermostat toward the center of the box.
That’s all you have to do! Once you’ve pressed the button, be sure to replace the front panel and plug the dryer back in. Run a standard cycle to check if the reset worked.
What If the Speed Queen Reset Button Doesn’t Work?
If you’re reading this section, it probably means that your reset didn’t work (in the off chance you’re preemptively checking, good on you!)
Resets frequently prove to be a quick, simple way to fix a frustrating problem. However, they’ll only work if the thermostat heating settings are the cause of your dryer’s over- or underheating.
Think of it this way: You can restart your computer all you like to try and get it to work, but what if you’ve fried some of the hardware? You can reset settings, but not loose wires or malformed components.
Fret not though—you don’t need to call in a technician yet. Consider the following first:
Are the Vents Clear?
Let’s introduce the most straightforward fix first: When was the last time you cleared out your dryer’s exhaust and other vents?
Your appliance relies on air to control the drum’s heat, mainly to keep it from getting too hot. So verify that the vents are clean enough to allow air through—grab your flashlight, take a look, and pull out any lint or debris.
You should also clean out your lint filter regularly to prevent additional debris buildup.
The heating element delivers heat to the dryer drum using coils. Sometimes, the element can bulge or warp, pulling the coils too far away to heat the drum or pressing them too close and causing it to overheat.
As you can imagine, this proves problematic when you want to actually dry your clothes. The last thing you need is a tangle of drenched clothing—or a fire.
You can test this component using a multimeter and inspect it visually for any misshaping. Because of the heating element’s placement, you’ll need to remove the dryer drum in order to move or replace this component.
While it can be a hassle, you may find the time and money it saves you to be well worth the while.
Conclusion
You don’t need to keep air-drying your clothes. If your Speed Queen dryer has stopped drying properly, just pull out the bottom front panel, reach under the drum, and press that convenient little reset button on the thermostat at the back of the dryer.
Maybe you’ve tried that and it hasn’t worked—in that case, grab your multimeter and check the continuity of heating components like the heating element, thermal fuse, and thermostat. Replace any faulty parts and tighten loose connections.
You may also want to look into running a diagnostics cycle from the dryer control panel and see if you can catch any error codes that will tell you what’s wrong.
Call a technician if you’re still struggling to get your dryer heating correctly.
