Clothes dryers evaporate the water from wet clothing by blowing hot air past them while they tumble inside a spinning drum. An electrical heating element or gas burner provides heat. Some heavy garment loads can contain more than a gallon of water, which, during the drying process, will become airborne water vapor and leave the dryer and home through an exhaust duct (more commonly known as a dryer vent). The exhaust duct is the portion of the vent that penetrates the wall and goes outside. It also connects to the transition duct when there is one.
A vent that exhausts moist air to the home’s exterior has several requirements:
- It should be connected. The connection is usually behind the dryer but may be beneath it. Look carefully to make sure it’s connected.
- It should not be restricted. Dryer vents are often made from flexible plastic or metal ducts, which may be easily kinked or crushed where they exit the dryer and enter the wall or floor. This is often a problem since dryers tend to be tucked into small areas with little room to work. Vent elbows are available, designed to turn 90° in a limited space without restricting exhaust air flow. Restrictions should be noted in the inspector’s report. Airflow restrictions are a potential fire hazard.
- One of the reasons that restrictions are a potential fire hazard is that, along with water vapor evaporated out of wet clothes, the exhaust stream carries lint – highly flammable particles of clothing made of cotton and polyester. Lint can accumulate in an exhaust duct, reducing the dryer’s ability to expel heated water vapor, which then accumulates as heat energy within the machine. As the dryer overheats, mechanical failures can trigger sparks, which can cause lint trapped in the dryer vent to burst into flames. This condition can cause the whole house to burst into flames. Fires generally originate within the dryer but spread by escaping through the ventilation duct, incinerating trapped lint, and following its path into the building wall.
InterNACHI believes that house fires caused by dryers are far more common than are generally believed, a fact that can be appreciated upon reviewing statistics from the National Fire Protection Agency. Fires caused by dryers in 2005 were responsible for approximately 13,775 house fires, 418 injuries, 15 deaths, and $196 million in property damage. The leading cause of these dryer fires is failure to clean; in other words, most dryer fires are avoidable with regular maintenance. Dryer lint is so flammable that the Boy Scout’s Manual suggests using dryer lint as tinder to start a camp fire quickly. Once a spark touches dryer lint, the flame ignites and carries through the transition duct and into the concealed parts of the home. Even with cleaning the lint screen after each cycle, particulate still gets through the dryer’s exhaust duct and creates blockages which restrict airflow. Dryer venting efficiency can be improved in various ways other than cleaning the lint screen and having the exhaust duct serviced regularly. Most of these incidents occur in residences and are the result of improper lint cleanup and maintenance. These statistics underscore the potential severity of dryer-related fires, making it crucial to be vigilant and proactive in preventing them.
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