Abstract: A clothes dryer including a cabinet, a drum rotatably mounted in the cabinet, ductwork connected to the drum for circulating air, a heating element for providing heat to the drum, and a control system for operating the clothes dryer. The control system includes a warning indicator and a control module. The control module monitors and tracks usage of the clothes dryer. The warning indicator provides first and second warnings to a user based on the usage. The first warning indicates that factory authorized service is required to clean inside the cabinet of the clothes dryer, and the second warning indicates that the heating element has been disabled until the factory authorized service occurs. Preferably, the control module is further operative to completely disable the clothes dryer based on the usage.