Thank you for all the responses.
I am in the process of replacing the Al with Cu that was the basis behind the original post. Just wasn't sure about the wire size necessary.
Here is another twist to this saga.... Allmost all of the plug outlets are Al while the light circuits are Cu in my house why would they do this? The house was built in 1968.
After turning the breaker off and testing the plugs in question from the original post, I presided to start taking out the wire. When I pulled the wire up from the metal box it sparked (hugh) and blew the breaker. I had previously checked and made sure the circuit was off, why did this happen? Could the original owners split a 220 circuit and left half unaccounted for? What is the explanation of this. Breaker leading to the plugs was off, no power at either plug but hot wire sparking and blew breaker (which have not been able to reset). There is no 30 amp receptacle anywhere near the laundry area......
And yes the dryer drum is turned by an electric motor........ my bad.