Clean out your dryer...fire hazard. please read.

[Truefire]

Hey Guys i just thought i would warn you guys and share with you a very interesting find here recently. That is a potential fire inside of my dryer that i wasn't even aware of. I have recently had to go inside of my dryer to test some electrical apparatus to troubleshoot my dryer's mishaps when i discovered the following:

I noticed i had a ton of lint inside my dryer and I am a stickler for cleaning out my dryer vent filter between every load. I am constantly getting on my wife for not cleaning it out and such but still even after cleaning it out consistently i still was presented with a mess, once opening the dryer.

I noticed that the heating element had at some time had a small fire burn up a patch of dryer lint in approximately a 4-5" circle of dust that had settled on top of this element housing and it is a wonder that it did not catch all of that other dust on fire.

Even after sliding my dryer out yearly, dismantling the dryer exhaust line and vacuuming the inerts of the exhaust duct there was still a ton of dust inside the dryer. I have been in the fire service for over 12 years and had my share of house fires started by dryers but i have thought that most of them were started for failure to clean the exhaust duct inside the dryer, and negligence on the part of failure to clean out filter between every load, boy was i wrong, or at least partially. I wouldn't have thought so much lint would have built up inside there, it had to be at least an inch deep.

By the way one reason i never go to sleep with a dryer is running learned this years ago. Been to several house fires whereby dryer started the fire while person's asleep.

I am sorry that i vacuumed all of the dust up before i thought about taking a picture or two and sharing it with you guys for a reminder to clean these babies thoroughly.

If you will look closely, im sorry i vacuumed it prior to the pic, but you can notice where a fire had started inside the element housing as well as some lint that i burnt out on top of the element housing.

LIke i said it isn't enough to dismantle and vacuum out the dryer vent duct from the rear of the dryer every year and keeping the filter clean between every load, there was at least 1" of solid lint covering the entire bottom, motor housing, and such

PLease guys for your families sake take the time to clean out the interior portion of your dryers.

Take care,
Chris

 

[JackLeg]

Chris: Thanks for posting this. :icon_thum We RELIGIOUSLY vacuum the lint filter EVERY load, but you've opened my eyes to another issue! :elvis:

 

[Truefire]

Yeah Jackleg,

I know brother, i do as well, i would have never thought so much dust would have been inside my dryer like that. Wow, i'll tell you it's worth the trouble of removing your front cover just to check.

I just wish i would have taken a picture or two prior to vacuuming everything up. Wow.

Hope most of the guys up here will read this post hopefully resulting in preventing a house fire at their very own residence.

another one of the reasons i have commented back with hopes of keeping the posting current so persons can read such an important safety measure

Chris

 

[Glennbear]

Thanks for the heads up Chris. I spent some years in the fire service and have seen my share of dryer fires. I would add a couple thoughts, like our shop DC systems the length and construction of the piping affects how efficently the dryer fan exhausts the cabinet to the outside. The old plastic corrugated dryer vent hoses are notorious for slowing air flow/lint discharge besides melting quickly in the event of a flash lint fire and becoming fire fuel themselves. :no: If at all possible metal stove pipe should be used for venting, if flex is needed it should be the metal type. I believe NFPA codes have been amended to prohibit plastic hoses but I think they are still out there. :wsmile:

 

[Sealeveler]

Thanks for the heads up.I changed my dryer exhaust several years ago to metal pipe with 2 45s instead of a 90 elbow.I also take dryer apart every 3-4 months to clean and often find scorched lint around elements.Tony

 

[Mt. Gomer]

Thanks for the heads up Chris!

I was up on a ladder this weekend replacing the outside cover to our dryer vent. The birds had discovered it this year and were thinking about moving in. It now has a hooded cover with a flap and a bird screen.

I checked the vent duct to make sure it was clear but I didn't even think about opening up the back of the dryer....

Trav

 

[CarvedTones]

Chris,

It is good advice to check the dryer, but are you sure you don't have a leak in the airflow? We have a fairly new pair right now, but when we had the previous dryer repaired once I saw inside it when the repairman was explaining something to me. There was dust, but just a light coat that you could wipe off, nowhere near an inch (probably not even a 16th). You could read the printed labels through it, but had to wipe it off to read the imprinted letters/numbers. I remember that because he wiped it off to clearly show the date; it was 10 years old at the time and he wanted me to consider replacement versus repair. My wife had purchased a maintenance contract (generally a bad deal, I know) so repair was a no brainer. We have 4 kids and a huge amount of laundry; the small amount of dust was not from light use. Anyway, that leads me to believe that an inch of lint inside the dryer probably is indicative of a problem that needs to be corrected. Again - I think the advice is excellent and people should look to make sure there is no problem and vacuum it up if there is, but also look into getting it fixed.

 

[Robert Arrowood]

Thanks for the heads up. I have to get on my wife all the time about cleaning out the vent filter:BangHead:.


On another note if you use dryer sheets make sure you clean the filter GOOD. Those dryer sheets are coated with wax.As they heat up it melts down and gets on the filter.Every so often I scrubb it with a stiff brush and hot water.

 

[junquecol]

As you have figured out, very few dryer fires are from stopped up vent, but lint on the heating element instead. The exhaust air from the heating element has to pass through the drum, where your clothes are first. If it was hot enough to start a fire, the clothes would go first. There is both a high temp limit switch in the element, and usually another in the exhaust duct. These will "pop" and shut down element in case of overheating. We are lucky, as our dryer backs up to an outside wall. Total length of duct, less than 7". With the plastic corrigated pipe, it usually developes a sag, lint collects in the sag, and then moisture from exhaust condenses and collects in lint. First thing you know, it's half full of water, which causes further lint collection. Then the dryer barely works, and home owner buys a new one. At installation, a new vent pipe is run. Harry homeowner brags about how his new dryer dries clothes so much faster than the old one. If he had just replaced the vent piping, then old one would most likely dry just as fast. PS, how much money did you find in the case of the dryer. My personal record is a little over $5, in nickles, quarters and dimes.

 

[Truefire]

Thanks for the heads up Chris!

I was up on a ladder this weekend replacing the outside cover to our dryer vent. The birds had discovered it this year and were thinking about moving in. It now has a hooded cover with a flap and a bird screen.

I checked the vent duct to make sure it was clear but I didn't even think about opening up the back of the dryer....

Trav

Travis i was able to gain entry through the front of my dryer by removing the bottom cover just under the door. I'm sure there are so many various models that are so different.

But for what it is worth mine is a Kenmore and there are 2 clips which must be depressed which are at the top of this cover and one on each side, 4" inward from the edge of dryer, insert a stiff putty knife straight in and then you are able to remove the bottom cover.

For what it is worth....

Chris

 

[Truefire]

Hey guys understandably so that the interior duct work and such be cleaned out every year as well as emptying the lint filter between loads.

But the vast majority of the dust that was inside the bottom of my dryer was common household dust that had somehow worked it's way inside over the years.

I have hardwood floors and this dryer sits on a hardwood floor. It just so happens that the dust from the house had worked it's way inside filling the bottom with over 1" of dust. Wow.

I know sad right, i have always disconnected the dryer vent line and vacuumed the interior 4" duct out on a yearly basis but had never went inside of the dryer until now.

Wow, boy was i amazed

I would have never thought so much common household dust had worked it's way in this area such as that being the bottom of the unit is somewhat sealed to an extent. As one has stated i need to determine how so much dust has accumulated. NOt sure yet, new dryer with no obvious entry points. Even where the heating element housing and such connects inside the dryer all was under a tight connection.

I believe my problem is not having central HVAC system whereby we would have a filter to remove the vast majority of household dust from the air.

As stated earlier i have hardwood floors and i am forever vacuuming copious amounts of dust from underneath our dressers, behind both dryer and washing machine which don't sit adjacent to one another as well as from under the refrigerator.

That remains the mystery, where in the world is all of the household dust coming from and it's only my wife and myself. No inside pets and we are both neat freaks. So, go figure! :BangHead:

Chris

 

[Glennbear]

The enviornments we live in are surprisingly dusty. My shop is detached so other than that carried on my clothes, shop dust does not migrate into the house. I had a power failure the other night and I was shocked how much airborne dust was visible in the bright beam of an LED flashlight when I walked across the living room. I have central HVAC with a very efficient filter and I use a HEPA filter equipped vacuum regularly but still dust is evident. :wsmile:

 

[Truefire]

Glenn it's funny that you brought up the LED flashlight into the conversation. They are unique in that they reveal what an ordinary flashlight with an incandescent bulb never discloses.

I just thought i would share it with you, i deer hunt a lot and spend a lot of time walking through a dark woods. I noticed when utilizing a flashlight with an incandescent bulb i never noticed the amounts of spiders on the forest floor, but boy oh boy are there millions there that you can see there eyes ever so easiliy when using an LED flashlight.

Something about that type of light that readily reveals those millions of eyes watching you walk into the woods that you can see spread out all over the forest floor.

My wife was freaked out when revealed to her the truth of how many spiders there actually are in a typical residential lawn and on the forest floor which can be seen so easily when utilizing an LED flashlight.

Wow, just what else have we been missing all of these years???

NEATO!

TAke care guys, Chris