Whirlpool Dryers: How to Change the Temperature Settings

Are you struggling to change the temperature of your Whirlpool dryer? Then there might be a glitch with it or you might be doing something wrong. You’ll find out what the issue is with your dryer with the help of the tips in this article. 

Are you wondering why you can’t change the temperature of your Whirlpool dryer? It could be because the cycle doesn’t support temperature adjustments, the dryer is running or paused or it is on a timed setting. It could even indicate that the thermostat or control board is faulty.

How can you work out which of these problems is inhibiting you from adjusting the temperature? What can you do to fix it? Find out the answers to these questions and more in this article. 

Can’t Change the Temperature On Your Whirlpool Dryer? Here’s Why

Your Whirlpool dryer is probably one of the most valuable appliances in your household. It keeps piles of laundry from adding up, allowing you to keep your clothes and your space clean and well-organized.

But even Whirlpool dryers do develop problems, and being unable to change the temperature is one of the most common. Fortunately, it’s an issue you can singlehandedly fix using the helpful pointers discussed below.

The Cycle Doesn’t Support Temperature Adjustments

Similar to most brands, Whirlpool dryers also come with multiple cycles and settings to enhance their functionality. With some of these cycles, settings such as temperature, timer, and dry levels are automatically disabled. Such cycles include:

• Heavy dry or heavy duty. This is the perfect cycle for drying large items such as towels and robes. Once you turn this cycle on, it will run for a specific time that you will not be able to alter.
• Damp dry. This cycle is ideal for drying clothes to damp or items that don’t need drying completely. You can then finish them off on your radiators or on the line. You cannot reduce or increase the temperature on this cycle.
• Fluff air. This cycle is for foam, rubber, plastic, and any other heat-sensitive items. It dries without heat. Again, you cannot alter the temperature on this cycle.

Before you put a cycle on, it’s best that you check its one that you can alter. You can use personalized programs to create your own settings that work best for you if your Whirlpool dryer supports that. To find out, see your user manual.

NOTE: If you are not sure where your user manual is, you can find it online. Type in “[YOUR MODEL NUMBER] Whirlpool dryer manual PDF” into an internet search engine to find it. Here’s an example: 

WED9620HW Whirlpool dryer manual PDF.

You can then search the manual for instructions on how to set personalized programs.

The Dryer Is Running Or Paused

A Whirlpool dryer will not allow you to change its temperature while the dryer is running or paused. So, any changes that you want to make to the dryer’s run time must be programmed before you press the start button. To adjust any default settings, the dryer must be on standby. 

Here’s how you can change the automatic dryness settings of your Whirlpool dryer before you press start. 

1. Press and hold “DRYNESS” for 6 seconds
2. Select the dryness level shown on the time display
3. Press “START” or “PAUSE” to save the new dryness setting

NOTE: Changing the automatic dryness is not available on all Whirlpool dryers. To find out whether yours supports customized settings, see your user manual.

The Dryer Is On a Timed Setting

Besides cycles, some settings meant to boost performance and reduce a Whirlpool’s dryer power consumption can automatically interfere with manual temperature adjustments. Such settings include:

• Wrinkle Prevent. This setting can add up to 150 minutes of periodic tumbling to help reduce wrinkling. This helps you to reduce the amount of ironing you need to do when taking your clothes out of the machine. You cannot change the temperature of this setting.
  • On Whirlpool steam models there is a “+Steam” setting that does a similar job. It uses steam to iron out the clothes for up to 60 minutes when the cycle ends. Because it runs with no heat, you can’t change temperature settings on your Whirlpool dryer when wrinkle prevent is on.
• Eco dry, Like the eco normal cycle, this setting dynamically adjusts the dryer temperature to reduce power consumption while effectively drying clothes. With eco dry on, the cycle begins with no heat and is on by default for regular cycles on Whirlpool dryers with the feature. If your dryer has this feature, turn it off, as it might be why you can’t change the temperature.

The Cycling Thermostat Is Damaged

The cycling thermostat maintains the target drying time and temperature settings by opening and closing when the drum attains the right temperature. It’s typically closed to allow electricity to flow into the unit until the dryer heats up and opens when it achieves the target temperature.

A cycling thermostat rarely fails, but if it does, the dryer heating temperature either becomes excessively high, causing a tripped thermal fuse or too low, and you can’t change it. Sometimes fixing a cycling thermostat problem might be as simple as cleaning it thoroughly. In other cases, however, you may need to replace it altogether.

If you do decide to replace your cycling thermostat, it is best that you call a technician to finish the job. This is because Whirlpool has a strict policy on which repairs homeowners can undertake without invalidating their warranty.

The Control Board Is Faulty

All Whirlpool dryers feature a control panel for seamless time, temperature, and other setting adjustments. Each control panel has a circuit board that prevents the control board from working correctly if damaged.

Have you checked and confirmed that no cycle or setting is preventing you from changing the temperature on your dryer? Does the cycling thermostat work fine? Then you might be dealing with a faulty circuit board on the control panel. The easiest way to determine if this is the culprit is if the control panel is blank or if all the buttons won’t work.

In other instances, the control board might be on, but the motor relay is stuck in the ON position, and your dryer won’t stop spinning even after a cycle ends. Or, it might be on but displaying an error code. Suppose that’s your scenario; check out your manual or Whirlpool’s help center to see what the error code means.

• Follow this link for help with Whirlpool Top Loader dryer error codes.
• Follow this link for help with Whirlpool Compact Heat Pump dryer error codes.
• Follow this link for help with Whirlpool Front Loader dryer error codes.
• Follow this link for help with Whirlpool Hybrid Care dryer error codes.

Open your control board to inspect the circuit for shorted wires or signs of burning and other damage. If you do notice any damage, you have to replace it to change the temperature and operate your dryer normally. Again, this is a job that you will have to call a technician to complete.

Conclusion

Being unable to change the temperature on a Whirlpool dryer is an irritating problem. You press the different temperature buttons on the display but nothing seems to happen. Thankfully, in this article, we have had a look at 5 tips that could help you fix this problem. They will pinpoint whatever’s wrong with your tumble dryer and get you back in control of its temperature. 

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Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

Cheers,

Craig