was having problems with the heating element flaring up then shuting down at first, so i gave it all a good cleaning-started it back up again - at first it started and fired up fine then the whole thing shut down and it won’t start up at all now. I checked the wires to see if any were loosened after the cleaning and that doesn’t seem to be problem. could i have a burnt out heating element now causing the dryer not to start at all?
You probably have a blown thermal fuse, a round white plastic thing on the blower housing.
When the washer drains it leaks all over the floor. It does not do this all the time only durning some loads. Check the drainage hoses and none have leaks or clogs.
A little difficult to help without model number, but if you are certain the hoses are not leaking then a likely cause is the water level system control is not working properly and the machine is fillling up with too much water and overflowing.
Check to see that the plastic hose that is connected to the level switch is properly connected at both ends. If so your problem may be in the water level switch itself.
Important, do not use this machine until you fix this problem. It can short out other parts and/or ruin parts which should not have water in them.
Good luck