Dryer fire

[Insidious Von]

Doing my laundry, I clean my dryer chute every 4th month. February is the 4th month, I went in and found almost no build up. Is dryer duct cleaning a scam, I get a phone call every September - more than one.

Mind you, I don't put a load in the dryer unless I give the air filter and the circulation vent a good blowing with compressed air. That's where most of the lint builds up. Has anyone ever experienced a dryer fire?

 

[james t kirk]

Good friend of mine is a volunteer fire fighter out in the sticks. He tells me that they get more dryer fires than any other kind of fire.

Freaks me out a bit because I've never cleaned my dryer exhaust. (Complete pain in the ass to pull the dryer away from the wall.)

But I did install a rigid duct when I renovated right to the outside. (Like the kind you would use to plumb HVAC.) No more flex lines for me.

And obviously, the shorter the distance the better.

And NEVER EVER exhaust a dryer near to your gas meter. Could be lethal in the winter if moisture in the dryer exhaust causes your regulator to freeze up.

 

[Mr Deeds]

If you have a gas dryer it really important you clean it regularly, fumes can build up in the exhaust vent And blow up. Electric dryers rarely have this issue however if you don't clean them out your dryer won't work very efficiently and you'll just be wasting money.

 

[MONTYY]

glass dryer...ang

 

[Mr Deeds]

glass dryer...ang

Anal much

 

[Darts]

No fire but one year I found a bird's nest inside the vent.

 

[bazokajoe]

I recently cleaned out my gas dryer inside and all vent piping and blower fan. I had to replace the gas valve solenoids so figured while it's open give it a good cleaning.
Vent piping wasn't that bad. The blower fan had lots of build up(~33%) between the blades.

 

[Mr Bret]

A guy knocked on my door recently. Said he cleans dryer vents and piping.
I told him I wasn't interested. He said he could tell just by looking at the vent from outside that it needed to be cleaned.
Yeah, right.
I do clean the lint trap every load and disconnect and vacuum out the pipe every so often.

I do know of an apartment building that had a pretty significant fire a few years ago that started in one of their dryers. Apparently from lint build up.

 

[boomboom]

yes the vents need to be cleaned a few times a year depending on use, volume & what's being dried. Flannel sheets cause lots more fluff in the catch screen. The catch screen needs to be cleaned every use. I was a VFF for 20yrs & responded to a few dryer fires. Even had 1 in a house I moved into a month earlier, years back. I was on the Vff in this small town & had been 1 for many years, so when I smelled smoke & saw what it was, I knew what to do & how to put it out, as it was not not that far gone yet. Dryer was screwed from it, plus some minor damage in the exhaust venting area. I called my insurance about a claim for a new dryer & it was denied as the FD was not called. Shock my head, said I'm on that FD, so I put it out without the need to call. If a called it in & went to the fire hall to respond, that time would have caused more damage. Hung up the phone frustrated, called the Fire Chief to get an incident # & called back to Insurance. Got someone else & the claim went through. I used to have my heating ducts cleaned every 3-4 years & the dryer vent done then too.
I never dry clothes now when not at home & clean out the vent regularly with a vacuum & compressed air My current house is slab on grade with in floor heat, so all I need to clean is the dryer vent. Dont forget to clean your bathroom exhaust vents too if you have one. My bathroom exhaust fans are all on timers, so they cannot run more than 1hr. I responded to a few of those too. too may people leave the bathroom exhaust fan on way too long & they can over heat with a build up on dust & dirt.

 

[TFZL1]

No fire but one year I found a bird's nest inside the vent.

I had a birds nest in my bathroom vent, I put a Cover on it.

Yes, fires can sand will start in a dryer vent.
(A gas dryer will have a separate vent for the gas flame than the dryer lint)

Anyway, at my old house, fairly new dryer, had a thermostat problem. When used on hot, it was way too hot! Like burner on full time, and clothes were scorched. It melted the plastic vent house that was from the original owner.
I replaced the vent hose with stainless steel and fixed the dryer, before we had a fire.
It was still way to hot on high, so I left the new owners a note telling them not to go above medium.

 

[Darts]

I had a birds nest in my bathroom vent, I put a Cover on it.

Got to be watchful of animals blocking vents.

"As outside temperatures continue to drop, wildlife are seeking shelter from the cold winter weather. An even greater danger exists when the squirrels' nesting material blocks the exhaust of a gas chimney causing odourless carbon monoxide fumes to back up inside the house. ...Jan 15, 2019"

 

[contact]

you can buy a dryer brush (same dia as duct) comes with 4 flexible rods I have one got it at home depot works really well I do it from outside I remove the vent flaps run the brush through with my cordless drill remove brush then run dryer all kinds of lint always blows out

 

[bazokajoe]

I had a birds nest in my bathroom vent, I put a Cover on it.

Yes, fires can sand will start in a dryer vent.
(A gas dryer will have a separate vent for the gas flame than the dryer lint)

Anyway, at my old house, fairly new dryer, had a thermostat problem. When used on hot, it was way too hot! Like burner on full time, and clothes were scorched. It melted the plastic vent house that was from the original owner.
I replaced the vent hose with stainless steel and fixed the dryer, before we had a fire.
It was still way to hot on high, so I left the new owners a note telling them not to go above medium.

Never ever use a plastic vent hose with a gas dryer. I wouldn't even use plastic on an electric dyer.

 

[Tomoreno]

 

[lakeboy1]

They don't work very well

 

[spraggamuffin]

 

[curvluvr]

In short, yes, you should clear your dryer duct. Fires have happened.
If you have a lint screen in your dryer that is in good condition, that will catch most of the lint, so you shouldn't have to clean your duct that often.
Don't quote me on a recommended frequency, but my recommendation is to clean it now, note how much lint you removed, then clean it again in 6 months.
Depending on many factors, you'll realize if you need to clean it more often, or if you can get away with cleaning it less often.

I personally would never pay someone to do that. You don't need a "professional" to do that.

 

[richaceg]

No fire but one year I found a bird's nest inside the vent.

It's warm, specially during winters...found a bird there too a few years back...had to put a screen wire so nothing can get in...birds started to nest just outside the vent...I guess it's still warm around it.

 

[Darts]

It's warm, specially during winters...found a bird there too a few years back.

And then there are raccoons. Found a family in one of our unused chimneys and a few years later in an empty space just above our garage door.

.had to put a screen wire so nothing can get in..

Our contractor said not to put a screen because if the screen gets wet and then freezes, the ice could block the vent.

 

[richaceg]

And then there are raccoons. Found a family in one of our unused chimneys and a few years later in an empty space just above our garage door.

Our contractor said not to put a screen because if the screen gets wet and then freezes, the ice could block the vent.

So far this winter, I have not seen a single raccoon in my backyard...they we're all over the place last year...this winter wasn't too bad for them this year so I guess they don't have to go out of their comfort zone for food. as for my vent. I always check that every week...make sure it's clean...as for OP...I find those duct cleaning service scam-ish...you want you duct clean...you call the company...the company that's hounding for business, i don't deal with...my SO had schedule them to clean a few years back...they show up in a truck / vacuum...will check your furnace (idk why) but they will vacuum your vents and our of the goodness of their hear, will tell you your furnace needs to be replaced by a much more cost effective unit and also energy saver and they can bundle it with a tankless digital water heater...etc etc....and they will call you almost every week about more duct cleaning...