Bobby Harrison was in Miss Quinn’s second grade class with me. He lived down the street, in a big house right next to our church, with his four siblings and mom and dad. And one early morning, right there in the middle of our second grade year, Bobby’s house burned to the ground and the whole family perished. The stories still haunt me of two neighborhood boys who were delivering newspapers that morning and tried to get the mother and children to jump out a third floor window before they succumbed to the smoke and flames.
Surely like me, you have heard terrible stories too, or even experienced a fire-related tragedy in your own life, and there is no end you would go to protect your family from harm. Ever since I became responsible for another life, one of my biggest fears has a been a home fire.
And so – like you – Mark and I do what any responsible parents and homeowners do – we take precautions to make sure our home is fire-safe. Hire licensed electricians for any major electrical work. Keep fire extinguishers in the kitchen. Clean out the lint trap every time we run the dryer.
The other day I noticed my dryer duct hose had came loose from the wall where the hot air vents outside. A step stool that we store next to the washer and dryer had fallen over and dislodged it. I had Peter help me move the machine out of the way (thank God for his 14 year old strength, because that thing was not budging for me!).
When I went behind the machines to re-attach the dryer duct hose, I noticed a HEAVY coating of lint on the wall vent that takes the hot air out. A little investigating later, and look what I found outside, in the corner of my deck, concealed from view:
the dryer vent that I haven’t looked at once in the three years we have lived here…..
This thick coating is covering the aluminum duct that vents the dryer to the outside.
I pulled out the whole thing and replaced it with this louvered vent. The louvered part remains closed until the dryer air blows it open, so critters can’t get in.
Regarding dryer duct hoses: I had seen a video at Pretty Handy Girl about a duct hose that can ignite from the heat of the dryer and of course it was the style I had, that looks like a slinky covered in tin foil:
Is this what you have too? I did some research and discovered that my hose was most likely a NON-FLAMMABLE, UL-listed product, but I decided not to take the chance and replaced it with an aluminum hose.
After I removed the tinfoil slinky hose, the kids and I stuffed a bit of lint in it and tried to light it on fire (on our driveway with the hose in hand), just to see if it was indeed flammable — (see kids, I can be the fun mom! – let’s light something on fire!!)
Our experiment was to no avail – after about 10 attempts we were satisfied that this hose wasn’t flammable.
The Harrisons’ fire, so many years ago, was not caused by their dryer.
So why, why, why am I writing this lengthy and boring blog post today?
Because remembering the Harrisons makes me want to do whatever I can to keep my family safe.
Because I think I am pretty responsible about fire prevention in my home, and yet, despite the fact that I run my dryer almost EVERY SINGLE DAY, I overlooked a potential fire hazard that was right in front of me. While this topic is on my mind, I want to urge you to check out your dryer and make sure it’s not a fire hazard.
Because so many house fires are caused by the dryer and can be prevented. And because I care about you and I want YOU to be safe too.
1 – Clean out the lint trap every time you use your dryer.
Check out more dryer tips from the National Fire Protection Association.
For a comprehensive list for your home, check out this list on 22 ways to prevent home fires.
Denise @ frazzled JOY says
I have a good friend who lost everything in a house fire that started by the dryer. I also lost my college roommate over Christmas break to a house fire caused by a space heater – all the kids died because they were all sleeping in the same room, the mom and dad survived – haunting memories indeed. Thanks for sharing – I will be checking mine today!!
pam {simple details} says
Thanks for the important reminder Lisa, and I'm so thankful you noticed yours! Not boring at all, very helpful, I'm off to check mine!
Linda {Calling it Home} says
This is so important, and so true. I had a fire because of the lint in my dryer. It only ruined the dryer, thankfully. But, I never leave my home with the dryer on and I am crazy about cleaning the vent. I have that flap one you installed….don't love it, sorry to say. I take my leaf blower, I know overkill, and put it up to my dryer vent every few years. Come to think of it…I'm due.
Lisa @ Texas Decor says
Very good reminder, Lisa! I also never leave my home with my dryer running, or anything else for that matter. I know people who leave with their washer, dryer, and dishwasher running. I just did a post about how our cat possibly saved our lives the other night when she woke us up and we smelled something burning. It was an issue with our air conditioner, but if she hadn't woken us up, I hate to think what could have happened. Thanks for the very important reminders! 🙂
Sarah @makingitmyhome.blogspot.com says
I just started following your blog and felt the need to comment on this post right away. A few years ago, we had a fire in our home and luckily, we were all safe but our "stuff" wasn't. We rented the home and because we had renters insurance, we were covered. Our landlord did not have the proper insurance so it was a nightmare for him to recover from this and if we didn't have renters insurance, we would have been screwed. Reminder people-as much as you can prevent fires, there are some you cant and make sure you have the proper insurance!
Jennifer @ Dimples and Tangles says
Great reminder, Lisa! We check our periodically but probably not often enough.
Elizabeth BlueClearSky says
Great reminder, Lisa, and I'm going to Pin it so as many as possible can read it. Our laundry is on the second floor near our bedrooms and my husband is very diligent about cleaning out the hose. Every three weeks he takes off the hose insdie and then climbs a ladder on the outside of the house to clean out the exterior vent. For some reason we need to do this every three weeks or there is just too much build up and increased drying time. We also don't go to sleep or leave our house with the dryer on.
Cassie @ Primitive & Proper says
you know this story hits home for me, too. great post and tips.
Dana Frieling says
It's always helpful to be reminded of practical/life-saving tips. Our dryer vent is always clogged with dog fur so it needs to be checked even more often than the average person's.
Mandi@TidbitsfromtheTremaynes says
Yah–you are totally in my head today! Last week I noticed the dryer vent to outside was totally clogged. Not safe, and bonus! Dryer works awesome now. I had no idea I needed to check that.
Andrea says
Great post and reminder. We had a similar problem with ours and it had never been cleaned out. We started smelling gas due to the vent being so full that it busted open. Lesson learned. Thanks for this awesome reminder.
Jackie says
There are companies that clean the hose from outside vent to the interior connection. It's about 100 dollars. If the laundry room feels humid then the hose isn't doing its job. The same can be said if the dryer takes too long to dry.
Kris @ Driven by Décor says
Thanks for the reminder Lisa. Having just moved into a new house, I hadn't even thought about it but who knows how long it has been since the dryer vent was cleaned. It is officially on my to-do list to check it out!
Adelina Priddis says
I've never checked the outside vents or hoses, but I do worry about dryer fires. I always make sure to keep the lint cleaned out, and do a sweep around the whole dryer at least once a year.
Kristin @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia says
NO WAY!!! I can actually comment now!! I'm so excited, hopefully that is the case on all the blogs (sorry for the test comment) That is so sad about your childhood friend we had the same thing happen growing up to a family as well. Because of you I am going to check our vent tomorrow, thank you! When we first moved in they had cemented over our vent on the outside of the home, we couldn't figure out why the clothes were not drying, we lucked out. Another time I had a heavy blanket that was letting off a lot of lint which caught the back of the dryer on fire, thank god I was home and smelled the smoke. I have always been so afraid of fires exp after the bathroom one but my biggest fear is that it will happen at night and we will be stuck…uggggg…thanks for this post lisa!!! xo
Carmel - Our Fifth House says
Thank you so much for writing this post! I need to check my dryer – like right now!
Mary Ann at classic•casual•home says
Our two year old dryer wasn't drying very well…I pulled it out from the wall and there was so much lint it was gross…cleaned it all up and the back of the dryer vents, too. This is such a good reminder. Thank you.
Susan Maclean says
Brilliant post, lady! Just for those of you who have a front vent dryer (i.e. the heat and of course the lint) goes out through the door of the dryer not a back vent – clear out the lint trap inside the door every couple of sessions, and vacuum the lint out of the grating on the outside of the door regularly too.
Melissa W. says
Thank you for this post!!!
Calypso In The Country says
Thanks for the reminder, Lisa. We just replaced our dryer hose last year when it had a hole in it. I always check the lint before drying clothes and I never leave the dryer running when I leave the house. I will now check the outside vent area to make sure that's ok! Have a great weekend!
-Shelley