My dryer is leaving rust stains on my clothes

next time send the brand name and model number,most of the time this is caused from a bad seal around the drum,the clothes go between the drum and wall and come in contact with rollers or whatever junk is there,check the drum seals,also check the front and back walls to see if anything is stuck there,sometimes the back wall has burn marks or like rust marks where the heat vent is that can discolor clothes but most of the time it's the seal on the drum hope this helps you out.

I would suggest replacing the front drum bearing. Sounds like the gap is now excessive, obviously allowing clothes to get caught up in there. Drum must be removed from the dryer to do this.
Good luck, hope this helps.

Apparently a common problem with 4-5 year old Kenmore and Whirlpool dryers. The paint is rubbed off the back panel by the felt seal attached to the rotating drum. The bare metal gets rusty from the damp clothes. The rust is rubbed off by the felt seal. The entire felt seal will turn brown. The stains are transfered to the clothes. The rust stains can generally be removed by additional cleaning.
I'm going to replace the felt seal on the drum, clean the rust off the back panel and see how long it lasts. Seal w/ adhesive is $30-40.
Some have suggested painting the back panel, but i don't think fresh paint is going to last long. The original paint was probably electrostatically applied and maybe baked on.

The rollers, guides, or wheels that are used to support the clothes drum may be worn out. When this happens, it may cause the drum to drop down slightly in the front or rear. Clothes can get caught between the front or rear of the drum and the dryer interior. This can cause clothing to have marks and/or tears. Check out the rollers, guides, and wheels for excessive wear or damage. Sure hope this helped ya!

If your clothes get marked or torn in your dryer, check these:

Rollers
Rear seal
Front glides
Front seal
Rollers Your dryer may use rollers, or wheels, to support the rear of the clothes drum. When these are worn out, they may cause the clothes drum to drop down slightly, which can pinch the clothes between the top of the clothes drum and the rear of the dryer interior. When the rollers wear out, you need to replace the whole set.

Rear seal Your dryer may have a felt-like seal at the rear of the drum. If this seal is worn, torn, or missing, clothes can get caught and torn in the space between the clothes drum and the rear of the dryer interior. When the rear seal wears out, you need to replace it.

Front glides Your dryer probably uses nylon or plastic glides at the front of the clothes drum for support. When these are worn out, they may cause the clothes drum to drop down slightly, which can pinch the clothes between the top of the clothes drum and the front of the dryer interior. When the glides wear out, you need to replace them as a set.

Front seal Many dryers have a felt-like seal at the front of the drum. If this seal is worn, torn, or missing, the clothes in the dryer may get caught and torn in the space between the clothes drum and the front of the dryer interior. When the seal wears out, you need to replace it.

ck rear (or front if it has one)drum seals they tend to develop rust stains over time the rust comes off on clothes leaving brown streaks ..seals will need to be replaced although you may try a bleach and water solution first drum will need to be removed to replace seals

rear seal on drum needs replacing front 1 too if it has one the felt seals tend to turn brown and the "rust"will come back off on clothes leaving brown streaks

It could be rust stains coming from the tub of the dryer during the drying cycle. The only concern is that rust stains are usually brown streaks on the clothes. I'd check the to make sure there are no rust stains on the tub, check the seal of the door to make sure its still in good condition. The last possibilty could be a good cleaning of the dryer (removing lint from the lint screen compartment and the tub of the dryer).

A schematic of your dryer can be found on www3.sears.com and should show how to get into your lint screen compartment and your tub.

The 417 dryers have two seals on the front panel, the top seal has drum glides which wear down over time. Because the drum rests on those glides, when it wears down it leaves a gap between the drum and the seal, clothes will drag in that gap and come out with rust and/or seal adhesive stains. Try replacing the top and lower seals, this works most of the time...sometimes though, if left unattended long enough, the lack of support from the front glides causes too much strain on the rear drum bearing, and even after replacing the seals clothes may still catch, although the brown spotting will stop for awhile. You can feel the gap if you run your hand along the inside of the drum at the seal point.

I have the same problem, I haven't resolved it but it seems to be due to the drum of the dryer being able to move more than it's supposed to and things getting caught in between the drum and whatever it sits in, at the front of the dryer. I have found things caught in there before and when I've pulled them out they had a brown/yellow grease stain on them. Other times something in the dryer will have this same stain - although no longer caught it seems it must have been caught at some point then became free again, with the stain. I'm thinking something is loose or if the drum is supported at the back by a bearing of some sort, this bearing may be worn down and the drum isn't sitting right.