While a resident in Savannah, Ga. was doing her laundry on June 5, 2007, she was startled to see that her dryer had caught on fire. Firefighters rushed onto the scene shortly after and were able to extinguish the fire before it spread past the dryer. However, the apartment complex suffered so much smoke damage that it left one family homeless.   

The culprit? Experts believe it could have been a dryer that had not been recently cleaned professionally. 

Unfortunately, these incidents are fairly common. Several cases just like this one have been reported all across the United States. Statistics published in 2003 from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission show that approximately 15,600 clothes dryer fires were reported in 1998 alone. Furthermore, these fires resulted in 20 deaths, 370 injuries, and $75.4 million in property damage. 

Numerous factors can contribute to a dryer fire. Lint buildup is a primary concern because it can easily accumulate in areas more likely to catch on fire. After one cycle lint can build up in a dryer chassis. Dryer components, including the heater and dryer floor, can also accumulate lint.  

As the lint buildup continues to increase, so does the probability for a fire. When the exhaust vent was even partially blocked, the temperature taken inside the heater intake, heater box, and intake into the tumbler increased. Measurements inside the tumbler, blower, and exhaust vent decreased when the exhaust vent was blocked to any extent. CPSC staff tests demonstrate that lint inside the dryer can ignite if it comes into contact with certain areas of the heater housing, the heater, or if the lint is ingested by the heater box. All dryers were tested at high heat settings under different conditions - no test load, with a dry load, and with a wet load. Blockage at 25 percent, 50 percent, 75 percent and 100 percent blockage under these conditions were also tested.  

Even cleaning the dryer's lint screen after each use does not guarantee that the dryer is properly exhausted. There are vent pipes below the lint screen and before the dryers blower that will clog with lint. In order to get to this area, the machine must be disassembled.  

Taking the right steps to ensure this doesn't happen in your home is crucial.  Proper maintenance is the key to prevention. A Bargain Appliance Repair wants to get the message out there to folks across the nation and to warn them of the dangers of not taking action to have your appliances properly cleaned. We recommend that appliances should be especially maintained in the first quarter into the second quarter before the summer heat begins. Email reminders will be sent out to our customers when it is time to set up an appointment for a cleaning. Up to date news bulletins regarding the threats involved with certain appliances will be included as well. If you clean your appliances yourself simply do not respond to our reminder email and use our reminder database as your yearly wake up call to take action.