Bosch Condenser Dryer "Clean Container" (secret flap door)

[JohnH69]

My drier has been overheating. I cleaned out under its 'secret flap' - thanks for that tip - otherwise I'd never have found it.
However, to be thorough I also removed the cover on the back of the machine and found another horror - the fan blades were caked in muck, so they were the wrong shape to be efficient. Scraping the muck off is quite a tedious finicky job but the fan looks a whole lot better now. I expect that was causing the fan to blow much less air than it should, and is another possible explanation for the overheating. I'll put the machine back together again tomorrow and report back on the result.
Cheers

 

[JohnH69]

Yes that worked - the machine is running perfectly again. I would recommend cleaning the fan blades if you experience overheating of one of these machines, as well as cleaning out the sump under the 'secret door' beneath the condenser and cleaning out the duct behind the condenser. The last two tasks are well described in previous posts.

My (engineer's) gut feel is that the water pump which is in there somewhere, to lift the condensate up to the discard reservoir, should be flushed out too, but I haven't managed to locate it in my superficial dismantling.

Cheers

 

[Karen B]

Brilliant forum thank you. Was at my wits end, cleaning filters etc but would’ve never spotted the secret flap or be able to work out how to undo it. Soaked out excess water and build up and finally the bloody thing works! Thank you. When everyone’s purse strings are so tight, no one has spare money for replacing expensive items unnecessarily. Thank you again so much for the heads up.

 

[PippiLongstocking]

I had the same problem. My 1 year old Bosch Maxx 7 sensitive condenser dryer would stop after a minute or so and would indicate a full tank of water. Filter was clean, water tank empty, cooler filter think from the front bottom left of dryer was clean, made me crazy!

Found this great post, took apart my dryer, hoses clean, no problem... Then I found a "secret door" flap, whatever, located in the bottom panel in the slot where the large cooler/filter thing goes. It is in the way back on the bottom. Lies flat has two hinges that you pull in with your fingernails towards you. Lift the flap up and you have a small holding area that gets full of gelatinized sludge! Pulled out about a cup full of lint filled slime gel, dried everything, put cover back on, viola! Works like new.

You don't even have to take the dryer apart if you can find the secret flap! Oh well, at least I know how to take it apart if I ever get bored. Thanks a million for the posts you great, helpful people!

I’ve had the same issue with Bosch Maxx 8 and started to give up as I’ve cleaned everywhere. Then I’ve found your post about the ‘secret flap’ and I’m soooo thankful.

 

[HollyH]

I had the same problem. My 1 year old Bosch Maxx 7 sensitive condenser dryer would stop after a minute or so and would indicate a full tank of water. Filter was clean, water tank empty, cooler filter think from the front bottom left of dryer was clean, made me crazy!

Found this great post, took apart my dryer, hoses clean, no problem... Then I found a "secret door" flap, whatever, located in the bottom panel in the slot where the large cooler/filter thing goes. It is in the way back on the bottom. Lies flat has two hinges that you pull in with your fingernails towards you. Lift the flap up and you have a small holding area that gets full of gelatinized sludge! Pulled out about a cup full of lint filled slime gel, dried everything, put cover back on, viola! Works like new.

You don't even have to take the dryer apart if you can find the secret flap! Oh well, at least I know how to take it apart if I ever get bored. Thanks a million for the posts you great, helpful people!

Thank you! My dryer has been out of action for months because it kept turning off after a few minutes. I couldn’t find the secret compartment, but finally got my husband with his longer arms to help. All cleaned out and working perfectly!!

 

[Mick S]

Thanks to this excellent thread I have (I hope) found an answer ...
We have an Ecologixx 7 (WTW86560NL, actually) with a "Self Cleaning Condensor", which had many of the symptoms described herein.
I found what I think is "the secret flap", on the bottom left-hand corner of the front of the machine. The flap actually says "Self Cleaning Condensor", which is the technical ambition and/or marketing speak. When I opened the flap (using a screwdriver to level the top open) there is a blank grey panel, with no means of removing it. Somewhere (in the Bosch Technicians Manual, I think) I saw reference to cutting out the middle of the panel (along a line) with a knife, which I was somewhat disinclined to do.
By removing the regular fluff filter I could peer inwards, with a torch, and see that this panel was indeed continous with its housing, so it was not going to come out. Also, that there were several cm of gunk (the technical term for wet fluff and hairs) behind it.
I used a combination of a workshop vacuum cleaner and a long stick to prize it loose and suck it out, via the filter housing slot, as far as I could.
Hopefully, this will be enough to restore performance; we will see ...