indesit IS70C

[paulsmummy]

could be the wrong place to put this question, but i have a indesit is70c condenser tumble dryer, ive had it for over a year now, and suddenly two nights back, the kitchen was filled with the acrid smell of burning rubber, i immediately switched it off, and called the service repair guys next day, they came out this morning, and couldn't find any problem, he said as the smell is inside the drum (making all my laundry stink!) it couldn't be an airflow problem, it's not the belt, not the heater, nothing can be found........
they wont replace the machine, as its through insurance on it, but they will come out, again and again and again if need be, and practically rebuild it....
mean time to use it, and hope that the smell burns itself out,
meanwhile, i refuse to use it, as i don't want rubber smelling laundry,
anyone know what my rights are?? its from a catalogue, the year warrenty has run out but i have 3 years insurance on it..
should i have to use it like this?? help appreciated...

[ChuckFickens]

I don't understand what he meant by "as the smell is in the drum it can't be an airflow problem" I would have always said the opposite, if a smell is in the drum it is likely to be an airflow problem.

That said the first place I would be checking in this instance would be any seals around the front edge of the drum or the door rubbing and burning due to friction.

Tumble driers are really simple machines and if it is defiantly a rubber smell then the only two places you normally find rubber in a tumble drier is the belt and maybe a door/front seal (though these are often a felt type material)

Run it empty for ten minutes and see what happens

[ChuckFickens]

sorry just realised I didn't really answer your question. if you want to know your rights probably law is the best place to post but I was always of the understanding that once you have accepted a repair then you've lost the option for a replacement.

[leylander]

No matter how many times your product has been repaired it is still under a three year repair guarantee. If it constantly being repaired I would argue that under the sale of goods act it is not fit for the purpose it was sold and you should be entitled to a replacement or even a refund of your purchase price.....it's worthchecking out!!.

[paulsmummy]

heya, chuckfickens, actually your answer was really helpfull, when its been running a while empty the smell does subside, but then we put clothes in it, start again, and da daaaa, the smells back for a bit, till its run for a while again, still making musty smell on laundry but its like ........ oooh there it is,........oh no it isnt..............bloody thing,lol

[paulsmummy]

laylander, i did ask the engineer if i could get a replacement, he said no, they dont do replacements, only keep fixing bits where necessary, apparently theres nothing you cant replace on it........ just have to wait and see i spose, keep trying it,

[ChuckFickens]

ok, most tumble drier drums are only really fixed at the back and run on a felt type "bearing" at the front, if it's not making a smell when empty but does when full I would have firstly looked at the state of the felt pad bearing at the front of the drum to see if it has either moved out of the correct position or worn out, both of which may allow the front edge of the drum to drop by a few mm and maybe rub on any rubber seal there is at the front of the drum or around the door.

not seen that model though, been several years since I was a domestic appliance engineer, but things tend not to change too much.

[paulsmummy]

the guy basically stripped it down on my kitchen floor,

said heater, fine, belt fine, all was fine, and really clean.... said he had seen some that were full of dust and mine isnt, he also did say, maybe something touched the heater for a time, i dunno say a rubber band might have fell down underneath touch it for a bit and has to burn off......

he also said i can call him back, but he wouldnt know what else he could do, which to me says dont bother...