Charmed Magazine

Could your dryer’s clean lint filter burn your house down? –Darlene Cook

Most of us think that cleaning the lint filter after every load will keep us safe from a dryer fire.

Not true. “It’s the lint you don’t see, says Bill Schroeter, owner of Dryer Vent Wizard Baltimore franchise, it’s the lint that builds up in the dryer exhaust vent. When a dryer gets clogged with lint, it doesn’t give the dryer any room to breathe. That can cause the lint to catch on fire”

Plus, according to Consumer Reports, the exhaust duct should be made with rigid or corrugated, semi-rigid metal instead of plastic or foil, accordion-type material, which can easily trap lint and is more susceptible to kinks and crushing.

On March 4, Canton resident Darlene Cook watched as her neighbor’s house burned down to the bricks and wondered what caused it. Later, the traumatized homeowner said, “It was the dryer”. Whether or not that was true, it was enough for Darlene. Since 2003, when her next door neighbor’s house burned she’s been super sensitive about home fires, so Cook called Bill Schroeter right away.

“I couldn’t believe the amount of lint that came out of my dryer. Not only from the exhaust duct but around the base of the motor. For the cost of a trip to the hair dresser, I got the cleanup, a replacement for the unsafe flexible aluminum duct hose, a louvered outside vent and a sound night’s sleep.”, said Cook.

If you’re thinking about using one of those dryer brush kits, Dryer Vent Wizard Schroeter says, “I’ve found that they work for very short dryer vents but the problem comes when the vent line is long and has elbows, the kit has a tendency to either break or come apart somewhere unreachable. When this happens, I usually get a call to retrieve the brush that sometimes requires cutting walls and or ceilings. So the few dollars saved end up costing hundreds.”

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, there are an estimated annual 15500 fires, 10 deaths and 10 injuries due to clothes dryer fires.

For more information, contact Bill Schroeter at 443.552.9394  or visit www.dryerventwizard.com.