As long as it’s working, most people don’t give a lot of thought to their clothes dryers. But consider this: According to the National Fire Protection Association, clothes dryers or washing machines were associated with an average of 15,970 fires per year in 2010-2014, resulting in an average of 13 deaths, 444 injuries and $238 million in direct property damage. The vast majority of those fires (92%) originated most frequently from two places: dryer venting and the lint trap.
The reason: a lack of proper vent cleaning and the use of improper dryer venting. If that sounds like an easy fix, well, sometimes it is — a simple matter of changing a hose or clearing a minor obstruction.
But newly remodeled or newer homes often locate dryers away from an outside wall, situating them in bathrooms, kitchens and in hall closets. That’s convenient, but potentially dangerous, because those exhaust systems can have multiple twists and turns behind the walls and under the floors, and can have obstructions that block access and cause lint to build up (lint is extremely flammable).
At Get Dwell, we find ourselves having to get quite creative in getting those types of systems as clean as possible, even going so far as having to invent a few things for some of our clients’ most difficult systems.
We recommend that all clients have their dryer system checked annually, especially those with interior systems. We also recommend that clients adhere to the following fire-prevention tips from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission:
• Clean the lint screen/filter before or after drying each load of clothes.
• Clean the dryer vent and exhaust duct periodically. Check the outside dryer vent while the dryer is operating to make sure exhaust air is escaping. If it is not, the vent or the exhaust duct may be blocked.
• Clean behind the dryer, where lint can build up.
• Replace plastic or foil, accordion-type ducting material with rigid or corrugated semi-rigid metal duct. Most manufacturers specify the use of a rigid or corrugated semi-rigid metal duct, which provides maximum airflow. The flexible plastic or foil type duct can more easily trap lint and is more susceptible to kinks or crushing, which can greatly reduce the airflow.
• Take special care when drying clothes that have been soiled with volatile chemicals such as gasoline, cooking oils, cleaning agents, or finishing oils and stains. If possible, wash the clothing more than once to minimize the amount of volatile chemicals on the clothes and, preferably, hang the clothes to dry. If using a dryer, use the lowest heat setting and a drying cycle that has a cool-down period at the end of the cycle. To prevent clothes from igniting after drying, do not leave the dried clothes in the dryer or piled in a laundry basket.
Have a question or concern about your dryer system? Give Get Dwell a call. An assessment and cleaning provides peace of mind and keeps your dryer operating at peak efficiency.