So THIS is how dryer fires happen (close call!)

[frigilux]

My dryer exhaust vent has a small cage to catch lint. I remove the little cage and clean it every two or three weeks. I've done this a hundred times without incident. When I cleaned it today, I accidentally pushed the back of the cage up a little too high and it was blocking the vent from opening.

I was watching a TiVo'd backlog of Family Guy episodes in my family room (next to laundry room) while the load was in the dryer (high heat, automatic cycle, laundry room door closed). It occured to me the load was taking a long time to dry. After awhile, I started to smell something 'hot'; I opened the door to the laundry room it was obviously coming from the dryer. I grabbed the timer dial and IT was hot. The top of the dryer was so hot I could hardly touch it. The console was quite warm, also. I opened the door and was greeted with a slight burning smell and a wave of very hot, humid air. There was no lint on the lint screen. The dryer was obviously not venting. I set the temp control to NO HEAT, started it up and ran out to check the exhaust vent. I discovered the and fixed the blockage, then let the dryer run for 20 minutes to cool everything down. Talk about a heart-pounder!

What's also scary is that, since I was using the automatic cycle, the dryer would keep running forever, as the moisture sensor was sensing wet clothing the whole time.

If you have a vent like mine, always be sure its cage is precisely in place!

 

[maytagbear]

oh, Eugene

I am VERY grateful you caught this!

We don't want roasted members. (Flamers, as appropriate. Roasted, NO.) (Kidding.)

I am glad you thought to check it.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

PS: I think it is something Stewie would get Chris to do.

 

[frigilux]

LOL! Yay, another Family Guy fan!

I was just thinking that had the worst happened, I'd be dealing with a fire rather than sitting comfortably in front of the computer at my favorite site...

 

[toggleswitch]

glad you are safe.

Gas or electric, hon. ?

 

[toggleswitch]

firestarter

Well remember the a-hole who washed his stuff in a washer with gasoline? I'd place odds that the same clothing washed in gasoline made it into his dryer...........

Now that is a FLAMER.
Now on the menu *Red-neck flambe........*

 

[DADoES]

I have the same grille on my dryer vent. I think it's to keep birds and vermin out, not to catch lint. Anyway, I had a similar situation (see thread elsewhere) when I stuffed a rag up there to stop the flapper from flapping in a norther and forgot to remove it before running the next load. My DEGX1 triggered an airflow obstruction fault and also tripped a safety 'stat that requires manual reset. No damage done in my case, and probably none could have occurred.

 

[frigilux]

DADoES---You're right; it's to keep mice, bats, etc., out of the vent. It catches lint as a bonus and keeps it off the hosta that are planted along the north side of my house. Apparantly my Frigidaire dryer doesn't recognize blocked airflow. Your dryer has a very good feature in that!

Togs-- It's an electric dryer. I lived in a warehouse apt. for about 15 years before I purchased my house and had a gas dryer there. And fear not; with 7,800 songs on iTunes and your biography in Appleworks, I would have grabbed the iMac and run in case of actual fire, LOL!

I'm just glad I hadn't put that load in the dryer and gone off to work for the day. I do that frequently. Not any more!

 

[gregm]

should NOT get that HOT ??

Sounds also like the thermostat was not shutting off the heat ?? It should not get that hot ? I don't think ......... glad all is OK ........ growing up, my mom, use to every few months take apart the dryer, vacuum it out and vacuum out what she could of the exhaust tubing/pipe.

 

[frigilux]

Greg-- I was thinking the same thing. I was surprised the thermostat allowed the machine to get that hot. In fact, before I realized there was a vent blockage, I thought the thermostat had failed.

 

[toggleswitch]

I'll bet, around you, more than dryers get too hot.

.....and the weird thing is, there should be a second safety 'stat methinks.

Actually, come to think of it, I believe the Fridigaires have the heating element around the rear of the drum (a la GE), and I DID see a saftey thermostat there on my previous (electric)dryer.

 

[toggleswitch]

Speaking of overheating

Quite by accident, I learned that the GEs have a safety switch to shut all off should a belt pop.

For our international friends, In American dryers the motor would turn but the fan would stop, as the drum would also stop. The heat source [which will not work if the motor is not running] would normally contine without said safety switch.

Does any other brand have that?

 

[frigilux]

Togs-- If you had a dryer that matched your Frigidaire washer, then we probably have the same dryer. I really think every dryer should be able to shut itself off if it senses a vent blockage or if the belt breaks/slips or it the temp rises too high. I guess I took it for granted til my near-mishap last night.

I'm certainly not letting the dryer run while I'm not at home anymore. The washer doesn't worry me---and if there is a flood, my laundry room has a floor drain. But it doesn't have a sprinkler system in case of fire, LOL!

 

[spinout]

On dryers...

If the airflow of any dryer is seriously obstructed, the operating thermostats (the ones you select temperature with) will not function as they are normally located near or at the machine's outlet and there will be no hot airflow across them.

All dryers have high-limit "safety" thermostats in addition to their operating thermostats. Most of the high-limit 'stats are calibrated to rather high temperatures and are self reseting (probably to eliminate nusance service calls). During an airflow obstruction event, these stats regulate the machine and can result in very high temps until the obsruction is cleared, time runs out or a disaster occurs. Fortunately, in this case the clothes were still moist.

 

[sudsmaster]

A dryer vent with a simple hood and flapper will also keep out pests.

I use a similar plastic vent with three big louvers. They never get clogged with lint, and they help to keep drafts out of the home (the dryer is smack dab in the middle of the living area).

I have read that the cage-type dryer vents can get clogged and cause problems.

 

[gregm]

only run dryer when home

I know a lot of people don't worry about this, but me personally, I just can't bring myself to leave a clothes dryer on when I am not home, unless I am going to the local market, three minutes away and will be right back but my mom would risk leaving the washer going but never the dryer. I would NEVER forgive myself if I had a fire and all because I had to have the dryer on while I was gone, ESPECIALLY a vintage one at that.