Intense heat near flammable materials is a recipe for fire. Clothes dryers provide the right ingredients. But it isn’t so much the clothing that presents the fire hazard as the lint that accumulates in the filter and in the dryer venting.
Lint buildup stays inside the vent, and hot air dries it more each time your clothes dryer is used. Eventually, this lint becomes dry as tinder.
Some startling numbers
Clean your dryer vent and you can help prevent a house fire. Consider these statistics from the National Fire Prevention Association:
- Lint, dust and fiber buildup in dryer filters and vents are the second leading cause of dryer fires.
- Dryer vent fires cause $88 million in damage annually.
- Fires originating in dryers result in an average of over 400 injuries and 15 deaths each year.
- The peak dryer fire months are from November to March.
As you can see, neglected dryer vent cleaning is a leading cause of many of these fires. After dust and other debris builds up in the vent, the dryer overheats, and the debris catches fire.
Dryer fire prevention
Besides hiring a professional technician to perform dryer vent cleaning, there are steps you can take on your own to lower your chances of a dryer fire:
- Keep combustible materials away from the dryer.
- Have the quality and condition of your vent checked. Some materials (such as plastic) are improper as venting materials.
- Clean your lint trap filter after each use.
- Wash the lint trap with water and soap once a month to remove tiny flammable particles.
- Never go to sleep or leave the home with the dryer operating.
- Never dry clothes more than one cycle.
At Home Comfort Experts, we have the equipment and expertise to perform dryer vent cleaning. Contact us to help ensure the safety of your clothes dryer and your home. We are proud to do our part to keep homes safe in Northern Indiana and Southwest Michigan.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about fire safety and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.