Whirlpool Cabrio Dryer - Scorch marks and burning smell

[ThisThingIsGoingToCatchOnFire]

I have a Whirlpool Cabrio Gas Dryer, Model # WGD5800BW0, purchased late into 2014. The past few cycles I noticed the tinge of a burning smell on my clothes. I make sure to change the lint screen after each load, and even popped the access hatch at the bottom to vacuum out the accumulated dust and hair. I checked the exhaust vents and cleaned what little buildup of lint there was. The air intake inside the drum shows visible scorch marks. I'm not going to run this thing until I'm certain I'm not about to start a fire. This thing is almost brand new! Does anyone have any idea as to what might be going on?

Any help would be much appreciated.

[ThisThingIsGoingToCatchOnFire]

I took the housing off the fan and cleaned out any remaining lint buildup. Still a burning smell. I'm starting to think it's overheating, and am wondering if the High Limit Thermostat is the culprit. The video on this site is pointing me in that direction. I'll pry the sensor off and test it with my multi-meter to see if it's faulty.

I'll report back for anyone else searching for this type of problem, but if anyone has any further insight, I would be grateful. 

[16345Ed]

Check all air ducts. 

 

It's possible you had a lint fire in there. If there was a lot of lint build up . You need to determine why it's building up. Sounds like clog somewhere. 

Take the entire cabinet apart and remove the drum. Look for burnt lint. 

If you find burnt lint. Look for your clogged duct. Check all drum seals as well. 

Good luck

[ThisThingIsGoingToCatchOnFire]

Thanks for your reply, 16. 

There was a minimum of lint buildup even before vacuuming, but I checked around everything again, taking it all apart. It looked pretty good. I had a guy come out to look at it, and he immediately sniffs the burning smell and asked a poignant question: "Have you been painting?" 

We had, but it had been a few months and the smell was pretty recent. What was new, though, was the staining of doors in the garage. The laundry room is only a door away from the garage, which is opened frequently to go between. So I've come to the conclusion that the acrid smell is burning stain fumes going through the gas burner. Being in Alaska, we didn't have much ventilation going on in the garage, to keep the cold and dust from the road at bay. But now I'm leaving the side door open to properly vent the fumes.

I hope this helps someone else in the future. Paint, stain, finish and lacquer fumes can present like an overheating dryer.

[sh2sh2]

Yes, paint fumes will react with heat of dryer and make smells, the dryer draws large amounts of air from surrounding rooms