New Queen=warrenty...I would call stat.

Before your call SQ....Have you done ANY painting, varnishing, re-finishing of any kind in the past few days or weeks??? Gas dryers pull in the smell, and transfer to clothing. This happened to me with my ONE and only gas Miele dryer. Electric dryers for me forever!!

Umm, well yes. We installed the dryers in our newly renovated house. The whole thing is freshly painted. Now what do I do? How long does it last? Does this happen to everyone with a new house and gas dryers? Why did I not know about this?? Eeeek!!

Did you wash out the drum before you used it for the first time? I've heard you need to do that for the washer, maybe for the dryer too?

Sorry Abby, this will continue happening with the dryer, as long as there is any residual paint/varnish or stain smell (even if very faint, or not really noticeable to you). There is a thread about this horrible event on our laundry forum. Do some searching. This is one of many reasons, for me, that I hate gas dryers!!

All the combustion products/byproducts from the burning gas in a gas dryer pass through the drum and clothes in the airflow path. As Larsi says, the problem will continue until the fresh paint stops outgassing VOCs and other chemicals. This problem can also happen from unexpected sources such as a newly-replaced wooden floor that outgasses from the treated wood/finishes/glue, etc.

gas dryer chemical odor

How come this doesn't happen to an electric dryer? The air is still drawn in to the machine from the room and through the clothes before vented out the building.

There's no burning, open flame in an electric dryer.

How new is it? I initially had some odor, as if the manufacturing oils were burning off. They went away after a couple loads

Dadoes, so you mean that the volatile products gassing off of the home finishes are being burned, thus giving off the noxious odors?

Thanks Dadoes :)

A big thank you to all who commented, and a short update.....

The gas smell has mostly dissipated from the dryer, with only a faint chemical scent left on clothes when I stick them close to my nose and really sniff for it. I think time has been the biggest factor, but I've also been running an air purifier in the room pretty consistently. It's one of the big ones with a charcoal filter, and it seems to be tackling the new house smell in the laundry room. Now I make sure to have the door closed and the purifier running for each drying load. Hopefully the problem will continue to fade with time. But lesson learned, no more gas dryers! Fortunately or unfortunately, I bought Speed Queen so the two I have will (knock on wood) be around for a long time. Thanks again...but now on to a new issue in a new post.....

Hi, I noticed at the Speed Queen dealer that the Speed Queen dryer have a strong, almost spicy odor in them. I suspect that this might be the same chemical that burned my airways in the Whirlpool front loader that we briefly had last year. I couldn't stand to run the washer and be in the same room at the same time. It also left an odor in the clothes. We ended up getting the Speed Queen top loader because it only had a very small amount of rubber seals in it and the probable source of something that very much irritated my airways . I have managed all right with the top loader. Can anyone with asthma, and/or sensitivities comment on the Speed Queen dryers? It is soo hard to find appliances in the past year or so that do not bother my airways. Thank you very much for your thoughts!! Also, any other suggestions of non-Whirlpool dryer brands for people with sensitivities would be great! I am so grateful for this site btw!

I have a newer SQ gas dryer and have never had any odor issue.

Thank you for your feedback Mama Pinky. May I ask when you bought yours?

Mimcmains, I bought my SQ dryer last September, its now just turning 5 months old.

Thank you. Do you have any kind of chemical sensitivities, asthma, and /or allergies? (If you don't mind me asking.)

I wanted to chime in and give an update too. My Speed Queen is now two months old and the smell is gone completely. I would say it took about ten or so drying cycles to be unnoticeable. I do not have true chemical sensitives as some do, but I have a very heightened sense of smell and get headaches from strong odors. For instance I cannot use any scented laundry products, and have to leave the house when the housekeeper comes, even though she uses only "green" products that I provide. I've been like a crazy person sniffing laundry out of the dryer, and I've been pleasantly surprised that the smell has not returned.

Since the first few hiccups I've been extremely pleased with my machines. The only issue I've had is drying pillows- the machine kept shutting off on the sensor dry setting but I wasn't noticing. I couldn't figure out why the damn pillows wouldn't dry! Several rounds of timed dry took care of it.

Did you wipe the drum out after it was delivered? Its advised to do so and I believe the manual tells to do so. There's a polishing compound on the stainless steel. I have a feeling, Abby that may have been what you smelled.

Sensor dry won't work for pillows, moisture remains in the stuffing when the exterior fabric that touches the sensor bars is dry.

Thank you Abby for mentioning about your sensitivities and your new dryer. Wereyou able to get the smell out of clothes I hope? My sense of smell is like this too.

Thank you Mama Pinky. I will take a look at the manual online, if I can, about cleaning the inside. I spoke with a Speed Queen tech who told me that I should run an old wet rag through the dryer on high to burn out the smell. I just want a machine the way they used to make them. No chemical issues to deal with.

I am not sure if you saw my comment Abby, but I am sorry that I missed the part where you said that your clothes were smelling better.

Hi, I have a speedqueen electric dryer and my clothes smell like motor oil. I did recently paint my house. The tech said that was the problem. Was I suppose to clean the dryer drum before use? Is there anything I can do now to help?

No you are going to have to wait until all the paint odors are gone. I would open windows and run fans to speed this process along.

Unusual for the paint/dryer odor to occur with an electric machine, yes? It's typically a gas dryer involved, flame/combustion of the paint vapors.

Dadoes I did not know that. Thank you

We purchased a new Speed Queen gas dryer in June, 2018. After washing two sets of sheets, there is now a burning smell in the dryer. The technician said that something must have gotten up against the panel in the back and caused it to burn. Has anyone replaced the panel (two screws showing) and had success removing the burn smell or is there another way?

We purchased a new Speed Queen dryer in June, 2018. We recently washed two sets of sheets and when they were dried, there was a burnt smell on the sheets and in the dryer. The technician said that something got against the plate in the back to cause this. Has anyone tried replacing the plate in the back of the dryer (two screws) to stop the smell or is there any other way.

I have experienced the paint/ dryer odor with my electric dryer. To a lesser extent than when I use the gas cooker, but it does happen.

I figure at least the VOC's are getting burned up and exhausted via the dryer and the range hood so I'm getting them out of the house sooner.

i bought an electric speed queen dryer in July 2018 and my clothes smell! suggestions? I am beside myself!

Shelley, as referenced above, have you done any remodeling/ painting/ new cabinets/ flooring, etc. in the laundry room or the house? What part of the house is the dryer located? Basement?

If so, you're likely smelling combusted VOC's emitted from the new building materials Doesn't matter what brand the machine is; it happens. I've always had electric dryers so I know from personal experience that the odor can happen with electric units as well as gas ones.

I have a basement laundry...the process seems to take longer...my theory is that the air in the basement doesn't get exchanged as readily as other parts of the house---depending on where you live and how much your air conditioning/ heating unit runs/ location of return air vents. etc.

thanks for your reply. No, nothing new has been done. I am thinking about cleaning with with party bleach part water - wiping down the drum,