Clean Your Dryer for Pete’s Sake!

[Aunt Mavis]

I clean mine but probably not as often as I should. Here’s what I recommend every 6 months or so.
1) Unplug it first, most are 240 volt.
2) Slide it away from the wall.
3)Pull the back cover off and clean and vac everything you can.
4) Vac outgoing duct the best you can. I do it from the outside too.
5) Re-install back cover, plug in and use.
6) Record date that it was cleaned because time flies you know.
Hire it out if necessary because lint and fire don’t mix. Don’t ever run it at night or when you’re away. Add anything I’ve missed if you’d like.

 

[dilettante]

The duct "plumbing" needs cleaning even if you use the recommended strait-pipe instead of corrugated flex-pipe ducting. Sadly that means it is more of a production to do that cleaning.

 

[hollydolly]

I've had my dryer 25 years..never taken the back off. The lint gets gathered in the front of the dryer, which I clear after every use... and my hose is vented through a hole in the wall outside

 

[hearlady]

I clean mine but probably not as often as I should. Here’s what I recommend every 6 months or so.
1) Unplug it first, most are 240 volt.
2) Slide it away from the wall.
3)Pull the back cover off and clean and vac everything you can.
4) Vac outgoing duct the best you can. I do it from the outside too.
5) Re-install back cover, plug in and use.
6) Record date that it was cleaned because time flies you know.
Hire it out if necessary because lint and fire don’t mix. Don’t ever run it at night or when you’re away. Add anything I’ve missed if you’d like.

We were just saying that it's time to do that.
And replace the duct. It's easier than trying to clean it.

 

[oldaunt]

Just cleaned mine real good. Got a new one.

 

[Naturally]

Oh goody ... something else I need to clean
Worked on a dryer problem for a neighbor last year and was amazed at the lint behind the panels of her dryer.
I KNOW mine needs a cleaning too after 17yrs. Good Reminder !!!

 

[jujube]

Also, check your lint screen occasionally if you use dryer sheets or softener. The substance can clog the mesh of the filter thus reducing air flow.

The way to check is to take the filter to the sink and see if it holds water. If so, just give it a scrub with hot water and dish soap.

 

[LoveTulips]

Well, I clean the lint screen but as I live in a condo, they come in yearly to clean the dryer and our wood fireplace.

 

[Murrmurr]

I've had my dryer 25 years..never taken he back off. The lint gets gathered in the front of the dryer, which I clear after every use... and my hose is vented through a hole in the wall outside

Every few months or so, it's a good idea to take out the filter and stick one of these down into the opening, and up into the vent as well.



I'm pretty sure dryers are built a bit different in the UK, but they all have a heating element, and those can get faulty over time.

 

[Jules]

Our new neighbours went to use the dryer and found the top was red hot. The vent to the outside was packed solid. It was a miracle that a fire hadn’t happened to the previous owner. She was elderly and let a lot of basic maintenance lapse. She was legally blind and probably didn’t see the other things. She should have felt the dryer.

and my hose is vented through a hole in the wall outside

That needs to be cleaned annually too.

 

[Jules]

This is a good link.

Home dryer fires: How to prevent them from happening.

 

[jujube]

We moved into a row-type house once that had the dryer in the garage, vented UP through the ceiling and through the attic to the roof. It wasn't drying well, so I pulled it out and it was solid lint.

It was so tightly packed, that I had to borrow a plumbing snake to get that thing cleaned out. It took days of "snaking" and "resnaking" and "re-resnaking" until I got all that stuff out.

 

[January]

I have a tumble dryer, it is over 15 years old - I use it very rarely, handful of times a year.
I clean out the lint filter afterwards but never taken the back off.

 

[Capt Lightning]

I have a tumble dryer, it is over 15 years old - I use it very rarely, handful of times a year.
I clean out the lint filter afterwards but never taken the back off.

Same here. I prefer to dry clothes on the washing line (weather permitting)

 

[hollydolly]

Same here. I prefer to dry clothes on the washing line (weather permitting)

..but then you have to Iron them... with a tumble dryer you save on the ironing..

 

[stretch5881]

A good dryer cleaning usually needs to be cleaned from the lint filter to the vent. On mine, I have to take the front panel off to open up the centrifugal fan to clean the fan duct, which is usually packed with lint. It is regular fall maintenance, along with flushing out the water heater and checking the anode rod and checking the pressure in the water pressure tank. You know....., things most people don't know about.

 

[IrisSenior]

..but then you have to Iron them... with a tumble dryer you save on the ironing..

I never iron my clothes from the outside line...ok, maybe once or twice in 10 years.

 

[IrisSenior]

I clean mine but probably not as often as I should. Here’s what I recommend every 6 months or so.
1) Unplug it first, most are 240 volt.
2) Slide it away from the wall.
3)Pull the back cover off and clean and vac everything you can.
4) Vac outgoing duct the best you can. I do it from the outside too.
5) Re-install back cover, plug in and use.
6) Record date that it was cleaned because time flies you know.
Hire it out if necessary because lint and fire don’t mix. Don’t ever run it at night or when you’re away. Add anything I’ve missed if you’d like.

I will let my husband know...thanks for the info!

 

[stretch5881]

Our new neighbours went to use the dryer and found the top was red hot.

A clothes dryer should never get that hot. There are thermostatic limit switches that cut the power to the gas supply or heating element if the temperature gets too high. Either a bad design or a faulty limit switch?

 

[Paco Dennis]

I checked...ours needed it!

 

[jimintoronto]

I have a tumble dryer, it is over 15 years old - I use it very rarely, handful of times a year.
I clean out the lint filter afterwards but never taken the back off.

Where does the hot air go ? The vent tube to the outside of the home NEEDS to be cleaned as well. You may be missing a huge amount of lint that is trapped in the vent tube that goes to the outside of the structure you live in. Lint is a perfect fuel for a fire. JImB.

 

[January]

I only iron those few clothes that need it, tumble dried or line dried - most things hung on the line and folded as you get them off dont need ironing.

 

[January]

it doesnt vent to outside.

Never heard of anyone cleaning the back of tumble dryers - only the lint filter at the front.

 

[stretch5881]

it doesnt vent to outside.

Never heard of anyone cleaning the back of tumble dryers - only the lint filter at the front.

Where does yours vent to?

 

[Manatee]

If you take a marker and write the date the machine is new on it, you will have a better idea of what to expect.