You can file this under “who knew?” Sadly, not enough of us do. Your clothes dryer can be deadly, a silent killer if the duct venting system is not properly maintained.
There are over 15,000 fires, 400 injuries, and several deaths caused by dryers every year according to TFRS. Most of these fires are caused by improper venting or the buildup of lint inside the venting ducts.
I came home from a business trip this weekend only to find the duct venting (flex dryer hose) had completely disconnected from the back of the dryer. Instead of the lint being properly vented outside it was collecting inside the back of the dryer and collecting in mound on the floor.
I was stunned to see how much lint had collected and to see that the duct coming from inside the dryer was almost completely blocked. We were lucky; that dryer was a disaster waiting to happen. I shutter to think the number of times I’ve left the dryer going while I took a short trip to the store.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPmbO4XCAkU&feature=related[/youtube].
Here’s another video worth looking at. This one shows just how quickly a dryer can ignite and destroy your home.
Now that you know how deadly your dryer can be here are three things you can do to protect yourself and your family. For more information read here and here.
- In addition to emptying the lint filter every time you are finished using the dryer, check the dryer duct on a regular basis.
- Never go to sleep or go to sleep with the dryer on.
- Replace plastic duct vending with metal ducting.
