This morning, when I started blow-drying my hair, the dryer began with its usual dull roar, then quickly ramped up to a rattling and whirring, then to a screeching sound, followed by an ominous crack before it stopped humming — and smoke drifted out of the dryer opening.

Yikes.

Needless to say, I turned off the dryer and unplugged it. (Well, I hope that is needless to say.)

When I peered into the back end of the dryer, I could see that one of the plastic fan blades had snapped off (the rattling) and caught in the other blades (the screeching/halt/smoke). My first thought was, “I’ll have to throw it out. Guess I’m buying a new hair dryer today.”

Later, I realized the *dryer* works fine, and if I could repair the hair dryer, I might be home free. I have short-ish hair, so I don’t do tons of blow-drying, and although the broken fan might produce less air, that would be OK. Plus, we’re getting hit with tons of bills right now, so if I can save $30, that’s $30 in the bank. And who needs to throw away an (im)perfectly functional 2 pounds of plastic and metal?

So this afternoon, I removed two screws in the handle of the appliance (with it UNPLUGGED!). I knew vaguely how a hair dryer works, but hadn’t looked inside one before. It was easy enough to gently pry apart the casing, find the fan blade, and remove the loose “fins” from the fan.

Unfortunately, I noticed that a couple of other fins are also loose. So I put the blow dryer back together and went online to see if I could find a replacement fan.

In short, no luck. I searched under various search terms, and looked through the Conair website (manufacturer of the blow dryer). I called Conair customer service, and a very helpful person there looked up the model, told me no replacement parts are available, and offered to replace the hair dryer if it was still under warranty … which it is not. I also tried calling Conair media relations to see if they know of a way to replace the fan, and to ask if they have any plans to (or currently do) make dryers with more durable, metal fan blades. (I left a message — will update this post if I get a response.)

Of course, I’m not surprised that they don’t offer replacement parts — I’ve had the dryer for a few years, and if I buy a new one, the company makes money. If I keep the old one, they make nothing. But I’m disappointed nonetheless, especially that they use flimsy, plastic fan blades, which are likely to deteriorate under heat (a given in a hair dryer).

I’m a little nervous to use the damaged dryer considering this Conair recall this year for a similar fan problem, but I’ll wait to see what I hear and remain vigilant.

Have you ever repaired a blow dryer? Any idea where I might find a replacement fan? (I’m wondering about hardware stores or auto stores — but I’m a little nervous about replacing with a non-suited part.) Or if not, know of somebody or some organization that might be able to use a non-functioning hair dryer?

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Comments ( 13 )

Why don’t you check your local thrift stores or freecycle group for the same model, then switch out the fans? Even Craig’s list. You might get lucky!

Sandy added these pithy words on Jun 09 10 at 5:43 pm

What sandy said. I ahem Don’t need a hair dryer Sham Wow works for me!

Rob added these pithy words on Jun 09 10 at 6:25 pm

Hmm… from a quick glance it doesn’t look like either of these places *promote* replacement parts for hair dryers, but they have tons of parts for other small appliances (including shavers) so it might be worth a call. If nothing else, they may be able to give you a lead on where to find a fan part, or in a position to convince Conair to make ‘em available!

http://www.marbeck.com/
http://www.nelsonappliance.com/

On the subject of replacing random bits of existing stuff in your home… do you or does anyone else have a lead on where to buy replacement lids for glass food storage containers? I invested in a bunch of glass “tupperware” a while back but several snap-on lids have cracked and I haven’t had luck finding replacements (also an item that the manufacturers don’t seem to sell individually to consumers!) Thx in advance for any leads!

L'anne added these pithy words on Jun 10 10 at 4:30 am

This doesn’t help you, but I wonder if a nicer/ more expensive hairdryer like what they use in salons would have sturdier parts since they’re used constantly. It might be a case where it’s worth it to spend more money and get something that lasts a long time instead of having to replace a cheapo one every five years or whatever.

Wish I’d thought of that before I bought a new hairdryer a while back… I dropped it and it was doing strange and scary things.

Adrienne added these pithy words on Jun 10 10 at 9:24 am

Try a site that sells parts for heat guns (like the kind that one would use to strip paint.) A hairdryer is more or less a low powered heat gun. I googled “heat gun repair parts” and found this site: http://www.toolpartsdirect.com/type/Heat-Gun-Parts
You could borrow some calipers, take some really good measurements, and call the site to see if they can help with substituting a heat gun fan for your broken hair dryer fan.

Indoor Kitty added these pithy words on Jun 10 10 at 10:44 am

Throw it out and let your hair air dry! It’s much better for your hair, you’ll stay nice and cool while it’s drying in the hot summer weather, you won’t use any electricity, and it won’t cost you a penny!

Life is sooo much easier with low impact hair.

Actually wait… don’t throw it out… freecycle it so you won’t create any garbage!

Rebecca The Greeniac added these pithy words on Jun 11 10 at 2:19 pm

Or if you’re wedded to having a hair drier, you could super glue the fins back on the fan…

Rebecca The Greeniac added these pithy words on Jun 11 10 at 2:21 pm

OK Rebecca, if you have the long, lush hair of your avatar, I’m sure you look great with air-dried hair … but for my fine, shorter hair, I’m going to stick with my 3 minutes of hair dryer every other day — that’s low-impact enough for me!

Cheap Like Me added these pithy words on Jun 11 10 at 2:34 pm

LOL! No wonder some people don’t hate hair driers like I do! Mine takes at least 15-20 minutes to dry with a blow drier, and then I look like I stuck a finger in a light socket! I guess every head of hair is different.

Rebecca The Greeniac added these pithy words on Jun 13 10 at 2:23 am

If you happen to find the replacement fan, please tell where. I have the same problem with my Megatronic hair dryer. Thank you.

Y added these pithy words on Jul 21 10 at 6:20 pm

Getting another fan would probably cost as much as a new hair dryer by the time you factored in shipping. Besides this one broke, who’s to say if you put the same thing in, that’s not gonna break too?

Most super glues aren’t that great. But Loctite 401 is the best I have ever used. Super glue accelerator is another thing that works wonders, lets you build up layers to make it super sturdy. Bet that would sturdy up those fins.

If it was mine and the rotor was completely trashed, I’d consider using some of the free appliance sheetmetal I’ve got and duplicate it into a new rotor that would last forever. I did that with a vacuum about 8 years ago and it still works. Then if the motor quit, I’d take it apart and fix the brushes or solder a wire or whatever can be done for free. Or if a switch quits, take it apart and clean it up or whatever.

I always say most things aren’t really broken. It just depends on how many subassemblies you wanna take apart to fix it.

Time=money only when the work is available.

tlc added these pithy words on Sep 19 10 at 10:37 pm

Don’t waste your time with repairing anything. Keep the economy going by buying & spending money. These are designed to fail after a duration depending on the quality level. Do your part to save America. Now go out and spend that $$$$ on a new hairdryer.

JJreal added these pithy words on Jan 28 11 at 1:05 am

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