Appliance Spares
Quick answer: A dryer that suddenly takes twice as long, smells hot, or leaks fluff behind the machine usually has a torn or crumbling lint filter — a consumable, not a fault. Most replacement filters sit in the $8–$15 band; a full cover-and-pad set runs $25–$35. Match the part to your machine family — the Simpson and Westinghouse foam pad, the shared Omega/Euromaid/Stirling/Tempo filter for the OCD40WA/DM4KG/ED45KG family, the Haier filter for the HDM3.5-1 — then confirm it against the model number on the sticker.
Last updated August 2026
The part you clean every load and never think to replace
End of August, the line outside is useless, and the dryer has been running every day since June. Now the towels need two full cycles, there’s a faint hot-dust smell in the laundry, and fluff is collecting on the wall behind the machine. You clean the lint filter after every single load, so it can’t be that — except it can. Cleaning is not the same as replacing.
On most Australian vented dryers the filter is a foam pad, and foam is a consumable. It compresses a little every cycle, glazes over with fabric softener residue, and one day it tears at a corner or starts shedding crumbs onto the clothes. Foam that comes away in your fingers has finished its career. From that point on, the lint stops collecting on the filter and starts collecting somewhere far more expensive: the element and the airflow path behind it.
The replacement is one of the cheapest parts on the whole machine. The only trick is that each machine family uses its own filter, and they don’t interchange. Here’s the map.
Which filter fits: match the machine family
| Machine family | Part number | The part |
|---|---|---|
 Classic Simpson and Westinghouse vented dryers | 0144002111 | Simpson foam lint filter 0144002111 |
 Same dryers — one on the machine, one in the cupboard | 2980610 | Two-pack of Simpson foam lint filters 2980610 |
 Omega OCD40WA, Euromaid DM4KG, Stirling and Tempo ED45KG | Shared across all four badges | Omega/Euromaid/Stirling/Tempo dryer filter |
 Same family — the combined form and exhaust filter | Suits OCD40WA, DM4KG, ED45KG | Omega/Euromaid form lint and exhaust filter |
 Stirling and Tempo GYJ45-68 and GYJ40-8 | GYJ45-68 / GYJ40-8 | Stirling/Tempo form lint and exhaust filter |
 Haier HDM3.5-1 | H0030203558 | Haier lint filter H0030203558 |
 Omega dryers where the frame itself has broken | GYJ468-5 | Omega filter cover and pad GYJ468-5 |
Notice the third row. The Omega OCD40WA, the Euromaid DM4KG and the Stirling and Tempo ED45KG are the same dryer wearing four different badges, so one filter serves the lot. The badge on the door is the least useful clue you have; the model number on the model sticker — usually inside the door rim or on the back panel — is the one that settles it. Run it through our part finder if you’d rather not squint at part codes.
Why a torn filter wrecks drying times
A vented dryer is three things: a heating element, a fan, and a clear path for moist air to leave. The lint filter exists to protect that path. When the foam tears, every load sends a small blizzard past the gap — onto the element, into the exhaust duct, and over the back of the machine.
The damage arrives in a set order. First the airflow drops, so moisture hangs around and cycles stretch out — the story we walk through in why a dryer takes three hours to dry a load. Then lint mats against the element, the machine runs hotter than it should, and the thermal cut-out starts tripping mid-cycle. Somewhere in between you’ll notice the burning smell. If your dryer has already reached the not-heating stage, check the element now using our guide to the cheap part to check before you buy a new dryer — a torn filter is very often the reason that element got buried in the first place.
One plain word on safety, because lint is fuel. Lint packed against a 240V element is how clothes dryer fires start, and it’s why this little pad of foam matters far more than its price suggests. Switch the machine off at the wall and unplug it before you pull any panel or go digging in the filter cavity.
Simpson and Westinghouse: the classic foam pad
The 0144002111 foam pad suits the classic Simpson and Westinghouse vented dryers that have hung on Australian laundry walls for decades — same simple design, same filter, year after year. It sits in the $8–$15 band, which makes it an easy part to be ruthless about: once the foam is compressed thin, glazed shiny, or tearing at the edges, it goes in the bin.
If your dryer runs daily through winter, the 2980610 two-pack is the sensible buy in the $15–$20 band — one on the machine, one in the cupboard, and you’ll never be tempted to run “just a few loads” with torn foam while you wait for a delivery.
One filter, four badges: Omega, Euromaid, Stirling and Tempo
These compact 4–4.5kg dryers are everywhere — units, granny flats, above-the-washer brackets — and they’re all built on the same platform. That’s why the one filter covers the Omega OCD40WA, the Euromaid DM4KG and the Stirling and Tempo ED45KG alike.
This family also uses a second filter most owners have never met: the combined form and exhaust filter that sits in the outlet path. There’s one for the OCD40WA/DM4KG/ED45KG machines and one for the Stirling and Tempo GYJ45-68 and GYJ40-8. If the door filter looks tired, its exhaust twin is usually worse — it catches whatever the first one missed. Check both while you’re there.
And when it’s not just the foam — the plastic frame gone brittle, a clip snapped, the cover cracked from years of being popped in and out — don’t glue it. Adhesives don’t survive hot, flexing plastic. The genuine GYJ468-5 cover and pad set replaces the lot in one go for $25–$35.
Haier HDM3.5-1: the little white filter
Haier’s compact HDM3.5-1 uses its own white lint filter, part H0030203558, in the $20–$30 band. Nothing else on this page fits it, and it fits nothing else on this page — which is exactly why matching by model number beats matching by eye. A filter that merely looks right will sit crooked, and a crooked filter leaks lint around its edges just like a torn one.
Fitting it takes less time than reading this far
- Switch the dryer off at the wall and unplug it. No wiring in this job, but the habit is worth keeping.
- Remove the old filter and note which way it faces.
- Vacuum the filter cavity and around the intake grille. The lint your old torn filter missed is still in there, and the new filter can’t fix the past.
- Fit the new filter, make sure it seats flat with no gaps at the edges, and run a short warm cycle with one old towel. Shorter cycle, no hot smell — done.
While the machine is pulled out, it’s worth two extra minutes with a torch: clear the exhaust duct of built-up fluff and check the door catch still clicks positively. If a dryer refuses to start entirely after being moved, that’s usually the door switch rather than anything dramatic — our guide to a dryer that won’t start with the door light on walks through it by brand. For everything else, the full dryer parts range is sorted by machine.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know which dryer lint filter fits my machine?
Match the machine family, not the badge. Simpson and Westinghouse vented dryers take the classic foam pad; the Omega OCD40WA, Euromaid DM4KG and Stirling/Tempo ED45KG share one filter; the Stirling and Tempo GYJ45-68 and GYJ40-8 take their own exhaust filter; the Haier HDM3.5-1 takes its own white filter. Confirm against the model number on the model sticker, or send it to us and we’ll check before you order.
Can I keep using the dryer with a torn lint filter?
It will run, but every cycle packs more lint onto the element and into the exhaust path — longer drying now, a burning smell soon, and a genuine fire risk if it goes on for months. For a part in the $8–$15 band, it isn’t a trade worth making beyond a load or two.
Why does my dryer smell like burning even though I clean the filter every load?
The smell is usually lint that got past a torn or badly seated filter and is now toasting on the element. Unplug the machine, vacuum the filter cavity and exhaust path, and inspect the foam closely — compression and edge tears are easy to miss on a filter you look at every day.
How often should a foam dryer filter be replaced, not just cleaned?
Clean it every load; replace it when it’s compressed thin, glazed with softener residue, or tearing — with daily winter use that can be every year or two. Think of it like a vacuum cleaner bag: a consumable with a service life, not a lifetime part.
The plastic frame or cover is broken, not just the foam — what do I order?
For the Omega family, the GYJ468-5 cover and pad set replaces the frame and the filter together, and it’s the genuine part. Gluing a brittle frame rarely survives the heat. For other brands, send us the model number and we’ll match the right assembly before you order.
Thirty seconds with the model sticker settles it
Find the model sticker — inside the door rim or on the back panel — and search this site for your part number straight off the old filter. Can’t find a code, or the old filter crumbled beyond reading? Send the model number (a photo of the sticker is perfect) through our contact page and we’ll match the right filter before you order. Get it to us by 12pm Sydney time and it’s dispatched from Sydney’s Northern Beaches the day you order — in time for next weekend’s towels to come out in one cycle, the way they used to.
Disclaimer: this article is general information only and is provided without warranty of any kind. Appliance designs vary between models and production runs — always follow the manufacturer’s instructions, switch off and unplug the appliance before starting any work, and confirm parts against the model number on your appliance’s model sticker. Any repair is undertaken at your own risk and Oz Appliance Spares accepts no liability for injury, loss or damage arising from work performed after reading this guide, to the maximum extent permitted by law. If in doubt, use a qualified technician.
