PSA Dryer Lint

[luvmy3]

I just want to remind everyone to periodically check the inside of your dryer for any lint build up. My dryer stopped working and it turned out that it had blown the thermal fuse because it overheated. When dh pulled off the front panel I could not believe the amount of lint that had built up on the inside. The vent hose had come loose and some of the lint had been sucked back into the dryer. I never noticed and have no idea how long it had been happening, but by the looks of it, it had been awhile.
I assume all dryers have those thermal fuses, but please check your vent connections and open up your dryer from time to time and vacuum it out. We had a neighbor lose their house to a fire caused by a dryer, so it does happenn.

 

[Nancy]

I had my dryer start on fire due to lint build up way in the back, down low...I always was good about cleaning the filter...now I make sure to vacuum and really clean it out on a regular basis.

We got lucky, I smelled smoke and caught it before it did any damage to anything other than the dryer and the small amount of clothes inside....but it was a very eye opening experience.

I also never run the dryer if I am not home and awake. At the time of our fire I used to work overnight. I would toss a load of clothes in the dryer after getting 2 of 3 kids off to school and then I'd lay down till the youngest woke up. On this day we were ahead of schedule so I put the clothes in the dryer and was finishing getting the kids out the door. I still think about what might have happened if I followed my regular schedule.

 

[lizbaby007]

How do you open your dryer (panel?) to vacuum it? All I ever do is clean the lint trap....should I be vacuuming that once a month?

 

[shortbun]

We take our hoses down and clean them 3-4 times a year. The lint trap on the dryer gets cleaned with every load.

 

[luvmy3]

How do you open your dryer (panel?) to vacuum it? All I ever do is clean the lint trap....should I be vacuuming that once a month?

I have a basic dryer so the top flips up and exposes the drum and heat elements and wiring. There are screws that can be taken out for the front panel and it can come all the way off. That allowed me to vacuum all the inside of the dryer and I could also get into where the lint trap goes down. That had lint built up in it too, even though I clean the trap before each load. My problem was that vent hose had come loose so lint was escaping but it was being sucked back into the dryer. If your hose is tightly attached you shouldn't have the buildup that I did but you will probably find that there is some lint in there so it doesn't hurt to clean it out.

I am paranoid now so I want to do it once a month but dh said we could probably do it every 6 and be fine. I'll just check the hose after every load.