How (Not) to Accidentally Burn Your House Down

One of my clients recently bought a home and had me install a few shelves in the laundry room. When I moved the dryer out of the way, I spotted this:

That bent silver hose is the duct that allows the lint to escape from the dryer. Lint is extremely flammable, and if it built up in the kinks of the duct, it would be a fire hazard waiting to happen. Fortunately there was no lint build-up yet, and it was easy to replace the kinked duct with a shorter, straighter duct.

Washing machines and dryers cause about 1 in 22 home fires, with most of the fires coming from the dryer, so it's worthwhile to pay attention to your appliances. Most of the fires are caused by a failure to keep the dryer and vent clean.

Here are a few things you can do to make your dryer safe:

• Clean the exhaust duct every three months to remove any lint build-up.
• Check the exterior of the duct to make sure that it opens and lets out air when clothes are drying.
• Clean the lint filter every time you dry a load of clothes.
• Periodically clean behind the dryer, on the drum, and anywhere else dust and lint might collect.
• Don't leave home or go to sleep with your appliances running.
• Don't dry items containing foam or rubber (like bath mats or foam mattresses).
  
• Don't use the clothes dryer to dry items which have oil, rubbing alcohol or other flammable liquids on them. Instead, dry the material outdoors away from heat.

While you're at it, take a look at how the machine was originally installed and make sure it was done right. Here are a few pointers:

• Make sure that your appliances are plugged into outlets that can bear the appropriate electrical load; you can't use just any old outlet.
• Ideally, the dryer should vent to the outdoors (as opposed to an attic or crawlspace) and the exhaust duct should be as short as possible. Long ducts need to be cleaned more often.
• Make sure that the exhaust duct is metal (not plastic) and it's UL-listed. Ideally it should be a rigid duct, not flexible.
• Make sure that any connections between sections of the duct are firmly sealed shut.
• If there's no smoke detector nearby, consider installing one.
• Have new appliances installed by a professional, and check his (or her) work!