Posted on 02/13/2012 8:36:50 AM PST by Smokin' Joe
A couple of nights ago, my wife hollered to me that the dryer was smoking, even as she shut it down. I grabbed the machine, dragged it out of its slot, and disconnected it from power and the dryer vent, ready to drag its hot and still smoking carcass into the yard rather than have it burn the house down.
The smoke was some of the most acrid I have encountered, and that includes my time as a firefighter in structural, woods, marsh/brush, boat, and vehicle fires.
Before I made it to the threshhold, though, the fire burned out.
With the immediate threat removed (that of a house fire of my own), I set about investigating the event while the house was airing out, windows and doors open (ambient temp 14 degrees).
The wiring on the back of the dryer was normal, pliable, and showed no signs of overheating (in fact, the breaker had not tripped), so I suspected the problem wasn't a simple short.
There was no sign of scorching in the dryer vent, so it wasn't the ignition of lint in the vent pipe.
At that point, (after feeling the sides to make sure they had cooled) I opened the back of the dryer to discover a coating of scorched and burnt lint throughout the lower half of the inside of the dryer. This is not in the drum, where the clothes go, but rather, the 'engineering spaces' within the unit.
The surviving lint coating inside the dryer was an inch or more thick in the bottom of the dryer, and thinned up the sides to about a half-inch. But the lint, even where it had not caught fire was pervasive inside the dryer, even having accumulated under the cover over the circuit board near the top of the machine to a depth of roughly a quarter inch.
The scorched lint was removed, along with the uninvolved fuzz accumulation, and the wiring inspected for damage.
Three wires had been heated enough to distort the insulation, but none had had the insulation breached. There were no signs of arcing or wires having shorted out against one another.
There was some scorching on the metal in the vicinity of the element, but that was apparently from the ignition of the lint inside the dryer case.
Conclusion: the lint accumulating inside the dryer had caused the fire, ignited by the heating element (electric dryer), and had burned so long as there was air provided while the dryer was in operation. When the dryer was shut off, the fire choked itself with its own smoke.
Continued operation might well have led to a less satisfactory result.
Where did the lint come from?
The connection between the pipe coming out of the back of the dryer and the vent to the great outdoors was not the culprit. It was secure, and did not leak; the lines were clear. This led me to check further, and the pipe which connects to the vent, the pipe coming from the filter chamber in the front of the dryer and heading out underneath the dryer seemed inordinately loose. In fact, the pipe was 1/8 inch larger in diameter than the flange it connected to, and was secured by the manufacturer with a single sheet metal screw. Any back-pressure in the line, and there was an open gateway for the sort of fine lint that would elude capture by the filter screen--the same sort of material which had accumulated inside the dryer and fueled the fire.
The dryer was cleaned, any scorched wiring inspected and taped well with a good grade of electrical tape, and the loose pipe sealed with a single wrap of 'Gorilla Tape', something which either should have been done at the manufacturer or which should have been rendered unnecessary by better fitting components. (Any air coming through that part of the dryer should be cool enough that this should not present a hazard, otherwise, the clothing and lint screen it passed through would be at risk as well.) The idea is to prevent future accumulations of lint and stop the blow by which also fanned the flames. (No fuel, no air, no fire)
Keep in mind that this is one of those 'high end' front loaders, which paired with the 'energy saving' front-loading washer ran for about $1800.00 a set retail when new.
What to look for:
I had noticed lint in the laundry area, something most anyone might expect. However, there really shouldn't be, if the vent is venting, if the connection is good, there should be no lint in the area except what falls out of the clothes, or you scrape off the screen. Fine, wispy lint fuzz accumulations might mean there is another source, and that could mean your dryer is accumulating lint inside, too, just waiting to ruin your day.
Check behind your dryer, check the louvers in the sheet metal in the back, and see if there is any accumulation. If there is, you might have a developing problem. If you can, peek inside and check for a mat of lint--and if there is one, either clean it out or have a qualified technician do so. Either way, make sure the dryer is unplugged from its power source first. I can't give advice about gas dryers, because I have never had one, but I'd think such an accumulation would present a similar hazard with either type.
Hopefully, this can save someone some grief.
Never leave a dryer running unattended!
I know someone who DID have a house fire because of a dryer. He said that clothes had been left in the dryer, and the heater hadn’t shut off as it should have, and that was the problem, but it might have been a lint problem too.
Either way, it’s a good idea to stay around while the dryer is running.
After a few days of thinking about it I realized that I should get her a new dryer even though I fixed it. So we bought a new washer / dryer and she is happy now.
Thank you so much! Time to pull the washer and dryer out anyway and clean back there.
Get yourself a fan booster for the dryer vent. If you can’t install it pay a handy man. Here is one:
http://residential.fantech.net/residential-products/laundry/dryer-booster-fans/
There are many available online. You clothes will dry a lot faster. Better yet, get a clothes line if your climate allows for it this time of year. You will save over $150 per month on your electric bill.
True, that’s another reason. If the dryer hose is not straight or develops a kink in it lint will back up. Also people don’t understand that you can’t load up a dryer with too much at one time. Drying times, dryer settings are another thing to factor in.
If your exhaust runs more than a few feet to its exit point, be sure to check for blockages. My previous houses all had a simple, short connection with the dryer next to the exterior wall. This house routes it up through a crawl space, 12 feet from the dryer's location. I cleaned a 5-gallon paint bucket full of lint out of that exhaust last Spring with a flex-shaft tool called a "Lint Eater". Damned previous owners didn't spend a dime on maintenance.
I say, with no hint of sarcasm.....dump the P.O.S. and get yourself a modern, well constructed dryer. They’ve come a long way. Such a thing never should have happened in the first place, and won’t with a quality product.
A new dryer isn’t really that expensive, and FAR cheaper than trying to rebuild your house.
Great report Smokin’Joe. I want to pass it along to my DILs.
Happiness is a washer and dryer in working condition. One winter — when my 4 kids were small, BOTH the washer AND dryer needed repair. What a fun few days that was!!
And I NEVER leave my dryer unattended.
We always check our dryer before having a fire.
A little bit of humor.*
Regards,
I know: Very little!
Burnin’ dryer lint bump * Thanks for the reminder Smokin’Joe
Thanks for the suggestions, especially the fan booster. In a normal year here, this time of year on a clothesline freeze-drying would be the result. (8^D)
Picking lint out of muh dryer. Beats freepin! (not)
Thanks for the alert!
Thanks for the warning. I just recently had a dryer repair guy here because my gas dryer stopped heating. I hope he checked it for this problem while he had it opened up. I know he checked out the lint vent and it was OK.
Just wait until she finds out the toaster’s been drinking.
Good info
I would bet the dryer wasn’t really made by the company you think it was. even though it is probably labeled especially if you bought it at Homedepot or Lowes
I found out some info on appliances and stores such as Homedepot or Lowes.
It seems that the brand name appliances that are sold in those stores are not of the same qualizy that you would buy in an appliance store.
Such as pot metal parts instead of stainless and plastic parts instead of nylon,and if you need to replace a part the part numbers do not match up with the manufacturer part numbers. So I got to digging and found out that Maytag didn’t make that dryer some one else makes them and Maytag lets them put the name on it. Whirlpool does as well.
So basically its like putting an “Eddie Bauer” tag on a EL Expedition..
:D!
I do remember many nights where mom would hang a load in front of the living room gas furnace before bedtime during the winter (far enough away of course). Ahh, those nice warm pants and sweaters before jumping the school bus were heaven!
You will notice a marked improvement with one of those fan boosters. It will pay for itself in just about a month too with faster drying times. Another tip, don’t dry on high.
A friend had a housefire back in the mid-70’s caused by the dryer. I’ve always seen dryers as the Achilles heal to home fire prevention. You can do everything else right (and even be anal about it), but if you don’t inspect your dryer, your home can be a house fire waiting to happen.
We moved to a rural area for the first time in our lives. We noticed our fire insurance was rather high, considering, and someone mentioned to us it is because there are no hydrants nearby and the fire department is “volunteer”. We realized that we needed to be more proactive about preventing and protecting against fire.
Our first step was to buy fire extinguishers for the first time in our lives. (we’re both 58).
And I’m almost paranoid about the dryer. :-)
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