Materials for seals in clothes dryers

[Stephen Tashi]

TL;DR Summary

Are the felt and foam seals used inside clothes dryers made of different materials than the felt and foam seals used for weather stripping? (They look the same.)

Are the felt and foam seals used inside clothes dryers made of different materials than the felt and foam seals used for weather stripping? They look the same.

Sites that sell replacement seals mention attaching them with "high temperature glue". Do any glues commonly sold in hardware stores qualify as high temperature glue?

 

[.Scott]

There are common glues referred to as "high temperature".
If you Google "high temperature glue", you will find many. For example, J-B Weld ExtremeHeat Adhesive. - good to 2400F. But it's not clear that you need this. Most organic glues are good to well over 400F.

 

[Whipley Snidelash]

A good silicone caulk/adhesive should be completely resistant to any heat encountered in a dryer. And with careful application might even itself serve as the seal, depends on the specific action of how the seal closes, it probably wouldn’t be good for a sliding contact. It should work for a contact like a door opening and closing. I would not use an organic glue and expect it to survive 400° for long. It might resist the heat for a while but it would probably degrade over a short time. Silicone based is the best, that’s why they make cookware out of it.

 

[Tom.G]

The temperature in a dryer drum seems to stay below 150°F. Looking at a few sites, 175°F was the hottest quoted, and most said around 135°F was common.
https://www.google.com/search?&q=temperature+of+clothes+dryer

Here is a datasheet for a Silicone Sealant that is good to 400°F: https://www.gesealants.com/getattachment/74d1a449-f17f-4803-b253-652923b898a5/attachment.aspx

A few weeks ago I was helping a neighbor with a bed bug problem and the dryers at the laundromat get the clothes to 130°F. (I've seen reports that 120°F for one minute is lethal for those monsters.) She ultimately gave up and called in the professionals.

Cheers,
Tom