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Check your dryer before you have a fire (Vanity)
me | February 13, 2012 | Me

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.


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: clothesdryer; dryer; fireprevention; greatballsoffire; lint
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1 posted on 02/13/2012 8:36:54 AM PST by Smokin' Joe
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To: Smokin' Joe

Clean out the lint screen up front—simple as washing your hands to prevent the spread of germs.


2 posted on 02/13/2012 8:39:32 AM PST by jmacusa (Political correctness is cultural Marxism. I'm not a Marxist.)
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To: Smokin' Joe
Did you take pictures? If so (or even if you didn't) I recommend that you send your evaluation to the manufacturer. You might not get anything out of it, but at least they'll be notified of the flaws.
3 posted on 02/13/2012 8:41:17 AM PST by KarlInOhio (You only have three billion heartbeats in a lifetime.How many does the government claim as its own?)
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To: Smokin' Joe

Now we know why you are ‘Smokin’ Joe.................


4 posted on 02/13/2012 8:41:27 AM PST by Red Badger (If you are unemployed long enough, you are no longer unemployed.)
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To: Smokin' Joe

Yep. Been there burned that.
I realized when I was doing some projects with the kids “lint and wax” for fire starters that this could be a real problem. So I was going to do something some day, not soon enough.
Thanks again for the warning.


5 posted on 02/13/2012 8:42:07 AM PST by svcw (Only difference between Romney & BH is one thinks he will be god & other one thinks he already is.)
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To: Smokin' Joe

Thank you.
I’ve added this to my to do list.


6 posted on 02/13/2012 8:42:18 AM PST by mnehring
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To: Smokin' Joe

Thanks. Much appreciated.


7 posted on 02/13/2012 8:43:06 AM PST by nuconvert ( Khomeini promised change too // Hail, Chairman O)
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To: Smokin' Joe

How old was your dryer?


8 posted on 02/13/2012 8:43:05 AM PST by Sawdring
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To: Smokin' Joe

I barely use the dryer during the summer and even hang clothes on the line during much of the winter. I personally think the loss of the clothesline is a loss for society.

My great grandmother had her clothesline deliberately put in next to the fence with her neighbor. Hanging laundry was a social event for her.


9 posted on 02/13/2012 8:44:17 AM PST by cripplecreek (What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?)
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To: Smokin' Joe

Thank You. Important Message to all.


10 posted on 02/13/2012 8:44:35 AM PST by immadashell
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To: Smokin' Joe

Guess what I save to start fires when I’m camping?

You got it, dryer lint.

Works way better than those “fire starters” at the store. Friend had already alerted me to the fire hazard of lint and being a camper himself, told me to save it for campfires.


11 posted on 02/13/2012 8:45:05 AM PST by ozarkgirl
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To: Smokin' Joe

Why no brand name? What are you consumer reports? Name it.


12 posted on 02/13/2012 8:46:19 AM PST by US_MilitaryRules (Unnngh! To many PDS people!)
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To: jmacusa
Throughout the service life of the machine, the lint screen has been cleaned after every load. If anything, that might work against you because the fine lint particles, the sort which had accumulated in our machine, would blow through the screen.

The reason lint was accumulating inside the dryer was the ill-fitting pipe the manufacturer had used to connect to the vent line outside the dryer which allowed blowback into the case of the machine.

13 posted on 02/13/2012 8:47:03 AM PST by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing)
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To: KarlInOhio

No pictures, but the manufacturer has been notified (Model and serial number). I told them I don’t want anything for me, I just want them to eliminate the hazard and use better fitting materials.


14 posted on 02/13/2012 8:49:00 AM PST by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing)
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To: Red Badger

The nickname goes back to my firefighting days...(8^D)


15 posted on 02/13/2012 8:50:09 AM PST by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing)
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To: Smokin' Joe

Thanks, I checked, everything seems secure.


16 posted on 02/13/2012 8:51:06 AM PST by CPT Clay (Pick up your weapon and follow me.)
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To: Smokin' Joe
A couple of nights ago, my wife hollered to me that the dryer was smoking


17 posted on 02/13/2012 8:51:56 AM PST by Slings and Arrows (You can't have Ingsoc without an Emmanuel Goldstein.)
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To: jmacusa
Clean out the lint screen up front—simple as washing your hands to prevent the spread of germs.

I think you're on to something. I've used electric dryers for decades, following the routine above, and never have had a problem. I strongly suspect the dryer was used without cleaning the lint filter before every use.

18 posted on 02/13/2012 8:52:35 AM PST by luvbach1 (Stop the destruction in 2012 or continue the decline)
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To: Smokin' Joe
Heard other stories like this from a colleague whose husband is a firefighter.

Wife-unit thinks I'm nuts when I refuse to leave the dryer going when we step out to the store or dinner or something.

I either open the door to stop it while we're out, or we wait until the clothes are dry.

Never leave a drying running unattended!

19 posted on 02/13/2012 8:53:33 AM PST by grobdriver (Proud Member, Party Of No! No Socialism - No Fascism - Nobama - No Way!)
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To: Sawdring

About five years, and we are the original owners. Keep in mind, too, that it has done an average of 2-3 loads a day during that time.


20 posted on 02/13/2012 8:54:05 AM PST by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing)
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