It's a common belief that the heat dries the clothes. If this were true you could dry your clothes in the microwave. The truth is that the air flow carries the moisture away from the clothes. Therefore, the most important part of the dryer isn't even part of the dryer, but the exhaust duct. The shorter and straighter the exhaust duct is, the faster the clothes will dry, the longer the dryer will last (because you dont run it to death trying to dry one load), and the lower your electric bill (or gas bill) will be. Most long dry time complaints I have dealt with have been directly caused by a crimped or extremely long, complicated exhaust duct. All of the manufacturers recommend against flexible ducting of any kind. It's recommended to use rigid, solid metal ducting with 4 inch inner diameter. Never use screws as they will accumulate lint on the ends of the screws, restricting air flow. Use duct tape to connect the pieces together and never tape to the dryer itself as this will restrict air intake. And if flexible ducting has been used, it is commonly wadded and twisted up behind the unit. If the ducting is solid metal as recommended, but has been in place for a number of years, it is most likely clogging from the years of accumulation. Hope this helps! =]