Reduce Your Risk of a Dryer Fire in Your West Hartford Home

11/12/2020 (Permalink)

Regular maintenance and an annual cleaning will help you stop a dryer fire before it starts in your home.

Each year, close to 35,000 Americans have an electrical fire in their homes, which account for one in every ten fire deaths. Of these electrical fires, the source in most of them is a home appliance.

With regular maintenance and cleaning, you can reduce the chance of an appliance fire in your home. When using any electric, gas or heat appliance, you should:

• Clean, inspect and maintain them regularly, giving special attention to any appliance that’s more than 15 years old
• Only use appliances that are certified by a reputable testing lab, such as Underwriters Laboratory
• Only use appliances when you’re home and awake

Now, let’s look at ways to reduce risk in one of the most common sources of home appliance fires.

Clothes Dryers

The big risk with clothes dryers is built-up lint, which is a ready-made fuel that can easily catch fire. Not only does lint collect in the lint trap, but it can build up inside the dryer cabinet and hose, too. If lint collects around the dryer’s heating element or burner, a fire can flare up quickly. Take these everyday steps to prevent that from happening:

• After every dryer load, empty the lint trap
• Keep clothing with combustible stains, such as gasoline or furniture polish, out of the dryer
• If your dryer is adjacent to your furnace, do not hang clothing or drop dryer lint near it
• Replace vinyl hoses with smooth metal ducts

Once a year, clean built-up lint from your dryer, hose and exhaust  (this task is easier if you have a dryer vent cleaning kit on hand):

• Remove the lint screen, push a snorkel brush down into the trap and twirl it. You can also use a shop vac with a crevice tool.
• Pull the dryer away from the wall and unhook the hose or duct from the dryer and the exterior vent. Clean the hose with a round brush and check to be sure you’ve gotten all the lint.
• From inside, clean the exterior vent with the round brush as far as you can reach, then go outside and clean from that direction. While outside, clean the vent hood of any lint or debris. Reattach the hose once all the lint is removed.

We’re Here for You

The team at SERVPRO of West Hartford has specialized training and experience in fire restoration and cleanup, as well as natural disaster and storm damage cleanup, water damage and mold remediation, and chemical and biohazard cleanup. Call SERVPRO of West Hartford (860.206.6141) any time.

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

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SERVPRO publishes educational articles on how you can protect your home and business from fire, water, mold, sewage, storm, natural disaster and other damage.

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If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141