Prevent Dryer Fires This Winter: Clean Your Lint Filter

How often do you clean out your dryer’s lint filter? It might not be often enough.

“The most common mistake people make is that they don’t clean them,” Lorraine Carli of the National Fire Protection Association told Patch. “The majority of fires happen from buildup of lint. The easiest way to avoid it is to keep your lint filter and dryer exhaust vents clean on a regular basis.”

During the winter it is even more essential to keep your dryer clean and dust-free as clothes dryer fires are more common during the cooler months. The U.S. Fire Administration recommends cleaning the lint filter before and after each load of laundry.

Here’s one way to think about it: When you put a pile of clothes into the dryer, lint — which is highly flammable — forms as your garments and towels tumble around in the high temperatures. If your lint filter is already clogged with dust, the lint has nowhere to go but to accumulate in the dryer and dryer exhaust vent, causing a potential fire hazard.

Another important tip is to be careful when loading your clothes. Even if you haven’t done laundry in a while (we’ve all been there), you shouldn’t cram everything in there.

“You don’t want to overfill the dryer,” Carli said, noting that it can also be potentially dangerous.

The National Fire Prevention Association shared these dryer safety tips to prevent fires:

• Have your dryer installed and serviced by a professional.
• Do not use the dryer without a lint filter.
• Turn the dryer off if you leave home or when you go to bed.
• Make sure you clean the lint filter before or after each load of laundry. Remove lint that has collected around the drum.
• Rigid or flexible metal venting material should be used to sustain proper air flow and drying time.
• Make sure the air exhaust vent pipe is not restricted and the outdoor vent flap will open when the dryer is operating. Once a year, or more often if you notice that it is taking longer than normal for your clothes to dry, clean lint out of the vent pipe or have a dryer lint removal service do it for you.
• Keep dryers in good working order. Gas dryers should be inspected by a professional to make sure that the gas line and connection are intact and free of leaks.
• Make sure the right plug and outlet are used and that the machine is connected properly.
• Don’t overload your dryer.

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, an estimated 2,900 clothes dryer fires happen each year in residential buildings causing $35 million in property loss.

This article was originally published in 2015.