Product review (5 stars): Maytag Performa Dryer part
"The dryer's not working"

And with those four words, visions of money evaporating into thin air waltzed through my head as I contemplated having to buy another dryer.  We've had our Maytag Performa (model PYE2300AYW) for about 12 years.  It's been a great dryer and I wasn't really ready to part with it - or at least, part with the cash needed to replace it.

After poking around under the dryer's hood, I turned to my trusty handyman reference, Google.  I quickly found out that more than likely the problem was the thermal fuse.  Oookay, so what and where is the thermal fuse and can I replace it?  To make a long story short, the answers were another quick Google search away.  I found a great set of videos where the guy who just happened to have the exact same model dryer as me did a video walkthrough of how to find, test and replace the fuse.  I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post YouTube videos in this review, but if anyone is interested in watching them, leave a comment and I'll post it.  Believe me, the guy who made the videos is a lifesaver.

Armed with the know-how, that just left me needing to find the part.  But this was just as easy since the guy in the above-mentioned video says exactly what fuse kit is needed - the LA-1053.  Because I needed the part that day, I purchased it from a local supply shop ($30), but if you can afford to wait a couple of days, it is much, MUCH cheaper getting it from Amazon.  The kit has three parts, including two fuses.  Since I have an electric dryer, I used the fuse with a pink dot on it (the other one is for gas dryers).

Replacing this thing was a breeze.  After giving the venting system a thorough cleaning, I put everything back in place, plugged it in, turned it on and "voila!" my dryer worked!  Thanks to Google, the guy who made the videos, and this small fuse, my wife thinks I'm a genius!