Your Dryer May be Failing If: The clothes are taking an inordinately long period of time to dry, come out hotter than usual or if the vent hood flapper doesn't open. Maintenance is needed in these cases.
Only You Can Prevent Clothes Dryer Fires Proper Installation & Choice of Building Materials 1. Make sure the dryer duct is made of solid metallic material. Both vinyl and foil are combustible and spiral-wound surfaces tend to catch lint more readily. 2. The dryer duct should vent to the exterior and in no case should it vent to the attic or crawlspace. Avoid the use of inside heat recovery diverter valves or termination boxes, which do not comply with current standards. 3. Avoid kinking or crushing the dryer duct to make up for installation in tight quarters -this further restricts airflow. If you really want to save the extra space, the Dryerbox is a new invention that allows the dryer to be safely installed against the wall. 4. Minimize the length of the exhaust duct (maximum recommended lengths depend on a number of factors, such as number of bends, and vary by model-check with your manufacturer for their specifications). If this is not possible, you can install a dryer duct booster. 5. If at all possible, use 4-inch diameter vent pipe and exterior exhaust hoods that have openings of sixteen square inches or more, which offer the least resistance to air flow. 6. Don't use screws to put your vent pipe together - the screw shafts inside the piping collect lint and cause additional friction.
Keep the Dryer Duct in Good Condition Disconnect, clean and inspect the dryer duct run on a regular basis, or hire a professional company to clean the dryer duct. This will reduce the fire hazard, increase the dryer's efficiency and increase its lifespan. In addition, you are less likely to experience water damage.
Keep Your Dryer as Lint-Free as Possible By keeping your dryer clean, not only will you significantly reduce the fire hazard, you will also save money as your dryer will run more efficiently and last longer. To keep your dryer clean: 1. Use a lint brush or vacuum attachment to remove accumulated lint from under the lint trap and other accessible places on a periodic basis. 2. Every 1-3 years, depending upon usage, have the dryer taken apart and thoroughly cleaned out by a qualified service technician. 3. Clean the lint trap after each load.
Alternative Solutions 1. Use a condensing dryer. Unlike conventional clothes dryers, condensing dryers do require external clothes dryer venting. This significantly reduces the risk of a dryer fire. 2. Use a spin dryer, which uses an extremely fast spin speed to extract water from the clothes. They extract significantly more water from the clothes than a washing machine spin cycle does. Spin dryers can be used alone or in conjunction with a conventional clothes dryer.
Before You Go.... 1. Never let your clothes dryer run while you are out of the house or even worse, when you are asleep. 2. Thoroughly read manufacturers' instructions regarding the safe use of their dryers. 3. If all else fails, you can always use an old-fashioned clothesline. There have never been any reported clothesline fires!
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