Question: It seems like every year or so there is a local news story about a clothes dryer catching fire. I remember a few years back reading about a dryer fire that spread among several homes in Goleta.
I have heard that a clothes dryer can catch fire but is this only the case for an older gas dryer that should have been replaced anyways?
We have an electric clothes dryer that is about 10 years old and has never been cleaned. Is our clothes dryer a fire hazard and what should we do about it, if anything?
Your Handyman: I remember reading about the fire that you are referring to, and the source of the fire was indeed a poorly maintained clothes dryer.
The damage caused by the fire likely would have been limited to just the laundry room had it not been for the windy weather conditions.
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, “An estimated 2,900 clothes dryer fires in residential buildings are reported to U.S. fire departments each year and cause an estimated five deaths, 100 injuries and $35 million in property loss. Failure to clean (34%) was the leading factor contributing to the ignition of clothes dryer fires in residential buildings.”
So, what does this mean to the typical homeowner and what type of preventative maintenance on your dryer is appropriate?
Heat is generated inside the dryer to remove moisture from your wet laundry, and a gas dryer creates heat via a gas flame like a gas oven, while an electric clothes dryer uses a heating element like a hair dryer.
As the clothes tumble around inside the dryer, hot air is blown into the clothes, and small fibers break loose from the fabrics, which create what is commonly referred to as lint.
Because of the looseness of the lint and the nature of the fabrics, lint is combustible if exposed to a high heat or an open flame.
Most lint is captured in the removable lint screen as the hot moist air is being forced out of the dryer, through the lint screen and into the flexible metal ducting that channels the exhaust to the outside of your house or garage.
The lint screen needs to be removed and cleaned every time the dryer is used.
However, the lint screen is not able to capture 100% of the lint and the small amount of hot moist lint that passes through the screen tends to stick to the inside of the clothes dryer and also inside the exhaust duct.
This builds up over time and is where a fire hazard can develop. This hazard can be greatly reduced by a thorough cleaning of the dryer and the exhaust duct.
So, what to do? If you have a household full of kids and your clothes dryer seems to be running constantly, then of course your dryer needs more frequent cleaning than a household with two retired seasoned citizens who lead cleaner lives and generate less laundry.
A busy household with children should consider annual cleaning while a home with one to two residents should be good with cleaning every three to four years.
Dryer cleaning can be done by most any appliance repair technician, handyman or DIY (do it yourself) homeowner, and all that is required is a simple set of brushes with extendable rods that are designed for cleaning a dryer duct and can be purchased at any hardware store for about $30.
These brushes are used along with a shop vacuum to brush out lint from the inside of the dryer itself and the inside of the exhaust duct. Homeowners are often shocked to see the amount of lint — and the occasional bird nest — that is removed during cleaning.
A sign that the dryer needs cleaning is that increasingly more time is needed for a load of laundry to be dried as the moist air is slow to be expelled from the dryer duct as it gradually clogs up with lint.
A clean dryer will dry your clothes faster and will use less energy in the process.
Many older dryers may still have a flexible white plastic exhaust ducting, which is a fire hazard and should be replaced with the new version that is made from flexible metal.
These flexible ducts are very easy to crush or kink, and if yours is damaged it should be replaced.
A gas dryer must vent to the exterior of the house because the dryer exhaust has high levels of carbon monoxide that, at low concentrations, can make you ill and at high concentrations can be lethal.
It is never a good idea to vent your dryer — gas or electric — up into the attic or down into the crawl space under the house because all the moisture in the exhaust can lead to mold or mildew.
There are now “ventless” electric dryers that are designed for apartments or condominiums with limited space. These dryers are designed to remove most all the moisture via condensation, and an exterior vent is not required.
I have heard mixed reviews on these ventless dryers, with some people saying they are fantastic and others that it created humidity in the home, causing mold and mildew to form in closets and on draperies. I have no idea how lint is cleaned from these units.
