Is it me or is there a rash of things catching fire??

[toggleswitch]

In a word, BUILDUP

~Toggles, why are dryer sheets so bad??

There were relatively few dryer fires pre-sheets. Vinyl exhaust tubing was not a huge problem.
Manufacturers would at one time not honor a dryer warranty if sheets were used. They changed their tune when the additives industry pointed out to manufacturers that dryer softener sheets kill dryers prematurely by inducing rust.
Dryer softener sheets add wax (combustible) to lint (combustible) to a heat source (electric elements) or an igntion source(gas flame).
The wax causes the lint to stick everywhere. It builds up until the vent tube is plugged. Then temperatures in the dryer rise to the point of ignition...need I go on?

Bad for the machine.
Bad for the environement.
Not so good for clothing.

Instead of adding back wax in the form of dryer sheets.
Just use less detergent. Odor-masking scents don't mean your laundry is clean, BTW

 

[exploder3211]

No i use them more for the softening effects.
Ok, I shall head toggles advice and go buy a downy ball and some softner for the washer..

Thanks..

 

[gadgetgary]

Chad

Why spend money on Downy? The cheap store brand works just as well and does not have that 'waxy' build-up.

 

[toggleswitch]

You do mean *heed*, dontcha?
*giggles*

I hate to burst your bubble, but many waxy liquid softeners feed mold growth and build-up in the washer too.

Their resulting waxy coating prevents towels from absorbing as well. Not to mention micro-fiber articles don't allow the use of softener.

(GadgetGary, that is a que and lead-in for you to speak...)

 

[toggleswitch]

Fire.

 

[seamusuk]

After reading this......

My Bounce sheets will be thrown out or used as vacuum freshners!( I only used the odd one anyhows). UK/Euro dryers use flexible plastic ducting as standard, Ive always presumed US ones state metal ducts because of the higher exhaust temperatures- I hadnt given the lint buildup/fire resistance question a thought!

Seamus

 

[toggleswitch]

interior

 

[toggleswitch]

interior

 

[toggleswitch]

This one was due to a kid with a lighter.

 

[seamusuk]

One word....

Scary!

 

[seamusuk]

And another..

Tragic

 

[toggleswitch]

It really bothers me to have to see these places. Saddest when avoidable.

Anyhoo... please be reminded to wash the dryer's list screen with soap and water and the electronic feelers/sensors as appropriate as well. Dryer softer sheets wreack havoc on these.

 

[petek]

I was shocked when after we moved in here and set the washer/dryer up I looked in our dryer and found that nearly all the 50 or so little exhaust holes on the back of the drum were plugged solid with a coating of lint.

 

[lightedcontrols]

also remember....

.....that this country is suffering the HIGHEST number of mortgage forclosures in history. Could this have anything to do with the recent spate of fires??? In the town of Welch, W. Va. where I was born, when the mines closed and people couldn't pay their mortgage, LOTS of houses cought on fire. The insurance companies paid, and people just left in droves. I'm really NOT surprised to see all the fires of late. Mark

 

[gadgetgary]

Not to mention micro-fiber articles don't allow the use

I use these towels for cleaning. No chemicals(Yay for the enviornment)....water only.

And absolutely no chlorine bleach or fabric softener when laundering.

 

[toggleswitch]

Proving once again that shorter and smaller can be better th

Attention California:

My understanding is that earthquake damage is not covered unless you have special insurance.

Fires due to earthquakes however.........

I wonder why so many dryers move to the middle of the room during (just after?) an earthquake and happen to snap their flexible gas connectors.

http://www.aurora-il.org/fireprevention/community/gasconnectors.asp

 

[exploder3211]

Wow.. I like the softner for the feeling of them.. Only use em on towls and only a little bit.. We only have one micro fiber item in the house. Thats scary about the kid and lighter, it would bother me seeing the after math first hand. Yes i ment *heed*... Oops.. Still getting used to typing on the replacment computer.. Grrr.
I also use chlorine bleach on whites and color safe cholorine bleach on everything else. I also have a medicated acne soap that discolars my towl once i get out of the shower so that gets bleached as well.. Wow...

 

[sudsmaster]

Thanks for the link, Toggle. I will be replacing all the flex connectors on the older gas appliances in this '41 home ASAP.

Regarding the earthquake coverage in California, yes, it's true. You can buy such coverage for an extra premium. The deductable however is, by law, very high, something like 15%. I have not purchased this coverage in the past, prefering to put my money, time, and energy into making the home more earthquake-safe.

My understanding is that without this coverage, no damage resulting from earthquake is covered. That would include no coverage for fires resulting from earthquake damage.

 

[tolivac]

WOW!the pictures of that home with the vinyl siding is scary-but lets face it vinyl siding is inexpesive for builders,easy to install,and weathers better than wood or hardboard siding-and the mild climate in NC is condusive to its use.In colder-harsher areas-it cannot be used-extreme cold will cause it to crack-esp under impact.You can crack it if you threw a snowball at it during a 0 degree or below day.I could only figure the wiring to the HVAC unit must of overheated when the unit went to aux heat mode.That would be when it pulling the max current.and being that its a PATIO community-and I knew of someone that moved into one in my area recently-fortunately the homes are brick.Little vinyl.I don't like patio communities-very tiny lawns and front-rear porches-little privacy-you have to make sure your blinds,shades and curtains work!There was a vinyl sided home in my area whose siding melted when the owners started a very hot leaf-pine straw fire to dispose of their lawn rakings.Good lesson here to get a shredder-mulch it in place on the lawn or haul it to the dump.another reason the vinyl is used here is the humid conditions rot wood VERY rapidly.

 

[toggleswitch]

O I C.

Rich, my understanding was that regular homowners' insurace covers fires. Even due to earthquakes. I guess this is a "technicality" that either way would have huge consequences.

My sister's brand-new Pulte house (a nationwide builder of stick-built homes) uses propane for heating, hot water, dryer and cook-top. I was impressed with the underground-tank, the piping, the safety valves etc. Basically MUCH safer than a huge propane tank up against the house. The new corrugated flexible connedtors used as a main and the maifold where individual gas-lines branch off was very new to me. I found two leaks in the piping that my sister and her family did not notice for over a year. You'd think they'd have sent around a worker with a gas-leak detector (hydro-carbon sensor) just to be safe and protect themselves from lawsuits. At first even I thought that the smell of the house was the drywall compound ["mud", if you will] or other construction materials outgassing as expected. You see propane smells different than natuaal gas. It smells "marshy" [OK WHO farted again?]so it was not immediately recognized.

Perhaps this gas leak explains the brain damage in that house.(You know, the type my sister was BORN with. *LOL* Ducks and runs).