Fire Safety: Dryer Lint

Keeping the duct from the dryer clean seems like a no brainer. On the other hand, this is one of the most often cited defects at the typical home inspection. What we inspectors see ranges from the duct having come loose behind the dryer (and lint is everywhere) to lint hanging from the exhaust hood outside. The implications of this problem are obvious: Possible fire and all around filth, when the duct is loose inside the home. There is also the issue of the dryer expelling moist air into the home and, if the dryer is a gas dryer and the inside duct is loose, that means potentially dangerous exhaust products from the natural gas or propane are being expelled inside the home - not good! Another issue, I had not thought about, was recited to me by an appliance repair tech. He repaired an electric dryer, which had a damaged thermal overload device. He said that these devices are prone to the dryer not being ducted properly or adequately -- as a result it overheats and that component is the first to go. When a dryer is vented into flex duct that makes it imperative to clean it even more often or, better yet, replace it with solid metal duct. Either way, take the duct apart occasionally and get rid of all the crud. Also make sure all ducts are actually connected.

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Steven L. Smith

Bellingham WA home inspector