Got an electric dryer that you stopped in mid-cycle by opening the door, and now it won't start up again? Today you'll learn what happened to make it fail to go again. It's a basic electric dryer 101 no-no. With electric clothes dryers you should never open the door mid-cycle without first turning the dial to the air-dry mode or advancing the timer to shut off the heat element. Otherwise, while the unit sits still, the re-hot element continues building up heat inside until it triggers the thermal fuse -- a built-in safety device that works only one time. Once it's activated, it requires replacement by a service technician before you can operate your dryer again. If you want to interrupt the drying cycle, always let the heater cool down sufficiently before you stop the drum and open the door. Otherwise, you might be line- drying for a while. For more tips, visit our Web site at onthehouse.com. And that's the On The House tip for today.