Suffering any type of damage to your home can be devastating and leave you with a million questions about how to move forward and fix what’s been done. That’s why it’s important to make sure you follow any advice given to you by experts, especially when dealing with a dryer fire. Knowing simple tips on how to avoid such a tragic event is essential to keeping yourself and your dryer safe! If you’re in the Davie area Restoration Doctor is a leading water damage restoration company that can help you gain background knowledge on how to prevent these types of fires and what to do if you find yourself in this unfortunate situation.

How Common Are Dryer Fires?

Year after year over 14,000 people suffer from house fires caused by their dryers. Most of the time these events are caused by a buildup of lint in the dryer vent. What this means is that many are neglecting to clean out their vents on a regular basis, which leaves you open and vulnerable to heat hitting a clump of lint and setting it on fire. After learning this is a leading cause of these types of fires you may be questioning how you could know whether or not lint has begun backing up in the vent. There are some dryers on the market now that have an indicator light that will alert you when it senses any blockage in a vent. Although this is a great design feature research has shown that even though these dryers are excellent at detecting a complete obstruction, they aren’t able to alert you when a buildup begins to happen.

Tips to Prevent A Dryer Fire

The best way to avoid this catastrophe is to follow a few pieces of advice from experts in the water damage restoration field.

• Clean Your Lint Filter: You need to make sure that you clean the lint from the dryer’s lint screen after every use. Waiting to do this every month or once a week is not enough. This will ultimately lead to lint blocking your vent.

 

• Replace Accordion Vents: If you notice that your vent is plastic or foil and shaped like an accordion, it is a good idea to consider replacing it. The job of an exterior vent is to connect with the interior duct of your dryer. This specific type of vent is dangerous because they sag, which allows lint to build up at their lowest points and getting trapped in the ridges.

 

• Clean Your Dryer Duct: If you notice that your dryer is taking longer than usual to get all of your clothes dry, this could be a warning sign that danger is near. You need to make sure that you are cleaning out your duct at least once a year. In order to do this, you’ll need to disconnect your dryer from its power source (including shutting off the gas supply). Then you’ll need to disconnect the duct from the back of the dryer. After that, you can use your vacuum to get rid of any lint that is present. Cleaning behind and under the dryer can be helpful as well.

 

• Be Aware Of Stains: People don’t think too much about how stains affect their dryers only how they can damage their clothes. If clothes have been tainted by gas, cooking oil, or other flammable chemicals it is important to wash them more than once, so they don’t spark any flames in the dryer.

 

Contact Us

Restoration Doctor in Davie has years of experience in water damage restoration. We offer 24-hour emergency service, which is why we’re a great resource if you’ve suffered a dryer fire. Call or visit us today to find out how we can help you and your home!