Posted on 02/13/2012 8:36:50 AM PST by Smokin' Joe
Thank you so much for posting this info, Smokin’ Joe. A neighbor’s house burned down when the dryer was left unattended (she ran to the drug store to pick up a prescription). May I offer one more bit of helpful advice? Every month, take the screen (the thinga-ma-jig that catches the lint) out and wash it with dish soap and hot water. Why? The fabric softener sheets will coat the screen and create almost an airtight/water proof seal. Since I wash three loads of laundry per day... this thread is very interesting and informative to me.
I don’t know how to do this! :-)
Maybe now we call you Smokin’ Dryer!...............
The booster fan is an interesting idea. You might want to change or rephrase your savings estimate though. Our electricity bill averages about $70 per month. I'd love to save $150. :)
I do the same with our dishwasher.
We had one about 15 years ago that caught fire from water getting into the timer controls!............
When your dryer cannot vent outside the pressure leaks inside the dryer and causes
excessive lint buildup which can catch fire. Also, if the dryer vent is longer then
ten feet you will have the same result. ALSO, any turns or 90s can also limit the exhaust causing buildup.
You "at the very least" have a venting problem.
Yup, It’s been a couple years since I pulled the back off of the dryer and did some vaccuming. Tonight sounds good.
Thanks for the reminder.
ps: dryer lint makes good camp fire starter material.
When it comes to fire prevention in the home you can’t be too careful. I worked for quite a few home builders. You wouldn’t believe how dumb some people can be. We had one woman used to leave her dryer going all day while she went to work. A neighbor noticed smoke coming out of this woman’s laundry room one day. Wind up was she had a lint fire. Firemen had to break her front door down(this was a $700,000, 5,000 sq. ft. home, etched-glass front door at $1,500) to put it out and when the woman came home she was p!ssed they did!
Similar happened to us two months ago, but for a different reason.
Normally when the drum stops, the heating element goes off, obviously.
In this case one cold night in December, after we had gone to bed, the element failed to shut off when the cycle ended.
Accumulated lint in places it shouldn’t be (same as yours), ignited as a smouldering fire with gray smoke.
I hit the circuit breaker and opened the door as quickly as I could.
This was a failure in the rotary switch.
And yes, we always clean the lint filter but enough gets by over the years to pack it in pretty well.
But the principal failure was the failure of the element to shut off.
Sounds like the dryer needs to go to Anger Management class.
When I remove the screen, I use a cardboard tube from Christmas wrapping paper and attach one end to my vacuum.
The open end can be made to fit down into the opening where the screen sits. This way, you can clean out the front-side of the dryer and get all that lint you see below the screen.
What’s the model and brand?
Why would it go all day? No automatic shutoff?
“... cardboard tube... clean out the front side of the dryer”.
You are brilliant, Erik. I’m trying that neat trick this afternoon. Thanks!
“Why would it go all day? No automatic shutoff?”
Perhaps she had the cat in there all day to keep her dog entertained.
I miss my 20 year-old Speed Queen, pity the porcelain in the drum was going...20 years of service, one element replacement.
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