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.
That’s what happened to us in #52. Element failed to shut off when the drum stopped.
Last summer I bought a new Kenmore washer and dryer from Sears. I swear by them.
I agree and it also collects behind the drum and in the internal duct over time. Pulling out the drum every five years or so is mandatory (as I found out).
Its the newer ones that I am talking about. They are made by second tier manufacturers and they use pot metal and plastic instead of steel and nylon.
Oh I know about the fact that things just are not made to last a long time anymore.
I have a 25 year old Curtis Mathis TV still going strong but I have a new model 2 year old Sony that is already crapping out.
Whirlpool Duet Sport Model Number WED 8300SW0
Thanks for the tip.
is that LintLizard legit?
And to anyone else, my dryer’s exhaust pipe goes down below into my garage’s ceiling and through to the outside. Maybe 12 feet.
I’m trying to think how to check for lint in this long section. I know I can disconnect from the dryer and get down some feet but how would I get the whole section checked?
I have a new Duet (1 year old) and of course now will need to check. And yes, I think there is more lint in the room now. I forget my old washer and dryer brand - Kenmore? It was nice ‘cuz I could fix things myself and keep those units (bought used in ‘96) running for a long time. Until the transmission gave out on the washer - and the wife kept pointing out the sales in the paper!
Consumer reports just had a thing on appliances catching fire. Driers was number one. Scary with some microwaves - some are prone to catching fire even when not in operation!
Is the tubing visible? It's usually thin 4"dia. aluminum in 4 ft. sections. One section end fits inside the other, then a couple screws.
Easy to take apart. Just be sure to index the sections so you can find the screw holes putting it back together.
I took a flood light and looked down the solid straight tube, I saw nothing. I'll use the floodlight to look just where the flap is outside and give that a look.
I'm buying that Lint Eater soon too just to be safe.
Nope. My wife and I clean our screen for every load. We get this same build up everywhere. It even makes it outside. Thankfully, we have a very short vent tube. Lint is everywhere in our laundry room (it gets cleaned, but it accumulates very rapidly). I just figured it was the cheap nature of the product (Kenmore Series 70 from 2005). I'll be looking into this loose-fitting pipe issue over the next weekend.
They recommend you open up the back or front of the dryer (I mean unscrew them) and check for accumulated lint and clean out.
I used to do this every 6 months in my old dryer that finally died. I will never leave a dryer running while sleeping or away. I got a new dryer 4 years ago and it died at 7 months.
I have been hanging up all my clothes since.
The fire wasn't inside the blower housing, though, it was inside the case.
Believe me, that thing is cleaner inside now than it was from the factory.
Part of my concern is that we expect the tolerances to be a bit closer, at least when it can result in a fire, and would not expect the lint to build up where the exhaust air isn't ordinarily supposed to go, so I want people to be more aware of that as well.
While buildup in the vents will affect efficiency and may cause the dryer to overheat, buildup of lint inside the dryer case provides fuel which can combust when it builds up enough to come in contact with the element or its housing. You have to either take the back off to see or, with some of the newer dryers, the lower front panel and check for an accumulation of lint inside.
Neither the clothes inside (quickly removed) nor the inside of the vent pipe contained smoke or scorching. The fire was inside the dryer cabinet, not the usual air circulation circuit.
As for venting, that is about a 10 foot run with a pair of 90 degree turns in it, and we do periodically inspect that and clean it.
It was the internal lint buildup we were unaware of, we'd been watching the vents to make sure they were clear.
Well...First of all, I guess you didn't bother to fully read the post where the writer said that HE DID, in fact, clean the lint filter every time. One of my friend's house burned completely to the ground due to exactly this problem - lint accumulation inside the dryer where it shouldn't have been and catching fire. They, too, cleaned the lint filter every time but very fine bits went through the filter and settled around the dryer drum. Actually, contrary to your belief, if they hadn't cleaned the filter so religiously it might have been better!
I’m glad you’re OK. When do you go back to being merely, “Joe?”
My washer and dryer warn against putting in clothes that have been stained by kitchen grease, because they can catch fire.
Way to go! I’m going to check my front loader! That is scarey!
>> ps: dryer lint makes good camp fire starter material. <<
That’s why I always take my clothes dryer with me whenever I go camping!
HHOK!
Tell it to Smokin’ Joe ‘’mama ok? My dryer works fine.
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