The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reports that dryers and washing machines cause an average of 15,970 fires each year, with dryers causing 92% of them and an average of $200 million in property damage.
Lint is the leading cause of dryer fires. It's highly flammable, and it's everywhere. Lint naturally accumulates in your dryer and dryer exhaust system. This buildup makes the dryer work harder for each load and the lint can work its way into the heating element, which is bad news.
Play it safe and split a larger load into two smaller loads. Keep the area around your dryer clean. Sweep any dirt or lint from under and around your dryer and avoid placing anything on top of it, including clothing, cleaning supplies, and garbage. Watch for warning signs.
By not clearing out the lint, the dryer becomes a fire hazard. Every year, there are more than 3,000 house fires in the United States caused by dryers. A couple seconds is all it takes to clean out your dryer's lint trap.
Lint accumulation, in the dryer and in the dryer vent, can reduce airflow and create a highly flammable fuel source. Clothes dryer fires account for over 15,000 structure fires, 15 deaths, and 400 injuries annually. “Failure to clean” is the leading factor contributing to clothes dryer fires.
Never leave a dryer running when you're away from home, and never leave it running while you're sleeping.
According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), there are an average each year of 15,970 home structure fires involving a clothes dryer or washing machine. The vast majority of these fires (92%) involved clothes dryers.
Cooking is the leading cause of home fires in the United States, starting almost half of all fires. Heating is the second highest cause, followed by electrical systems/lighting equipment and intentional fires. Smoking is the fifth highest cause, but is the leading cause of civilian home fire deaths.
The Advantage To Dryer Sheets
Aside from leaving fabrics smelling fresh and feeling soft, dryer sheets provide an important safety service. They help eliminate static on clothing. Static can cause dryer fires if a spark ignites debris in the lint trap. (An important reason to keep the lint trap clean.)
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that clogged dryer vents are responsible for more than 15,000 dryer fires each year. These fires cost homeowners more than $200 million in damages, as well as hundreds of injuries.
'As the temperature rises the chemical reactions proceed faster and pretty soon you have a fire' A forensic chemist from Texas says fires caused by hot laundry removed from dryers are more common than people think.
Check the Lint Filter
One of the most common culprits of a burning smell in your dryer is excessive lint buildup. Remove any lint from the filter, and look inside the dryer itself.
A good rule of thumb is to have your dryer exhaust vents inspected and cleaned by a professional at least once per year. However, if you have a household that uses your dryer often, such as one with a lot of children, you may want to consider increasing that amount to every six months.
Occasionally, a red glow may be seen inside the dryer drum. This is normal. The glow is from the heating element and is most noticeable if the cycle has been interrupted to remove or add an article of clothing. During the drying cycle, the element heats and glows.
When air is not properly circulating, the lint does not have anywhere to go but into the dryer. This can result in lint getting on the drum motor and into the heater box, which can ignite the lint. The autoignition temperature of lint is 511°F (266°C).
Dryer balls can dramatically reduce your drying times (sometimes even by 25%!!), they soften clothes, and, if used correctly, they reduce static in your laundry.
Avoid using dryer sheets when washing bath, kitchen, microfiber or cleaning towels or rags. If you have children, avoid washing their pajamas with dryer sheets. The coating can make pajamas less fire resistant. Stearic acid coatings can disable the wicking capabilities of active wear and socks.
Wool dryer balls are significantly kinder to the environment than dryer sheets, as they're 100% natural, organic, and can biodegrade back into the soil at the end of their life. They can save your money: one set of wool dryer balls can last 1,000 washes – or over three years of laundry.
Ranges and Stoves
By far, ranges are the most common cause of kitchen fires. Electric ranges are at a greater risk than gas ranges to be the culprit of a kitchen fire. Grease fires can happen quickly on a cooktop and can get out of control quickly.
Since 2004, over 750 domestic fires 'are thought to have been started' by affected dryers under the Hotpoint, Creda, Indesit, ProLine and Swan brands, with 'fluff in contact with the heating element' or lint building up around the rear drum seal, falling onto the heater.
The temperature a dryer reaches depends on the make and model of the dryer, as well as the setting at which the dryer is running. Your dryer uses heat to warm the water in your clothes and turn it into vapor. On average, most dryers can get around 125 to 135 degrees Fahrenheit.
Safety Systems
The dryer also has a couple of safety features that help to prevent overheating. There are two temperature shut-off switches. When these switches reach certain preset temperatures, they break contact, which shuts the dryer off. The first switch is located near the lint screen.