dryer protocol

[eub]

I've always cleaned the dryer lint screen before each load, like the manufacturer says. In this apartment building's laundry room, I almost always find the screen already cleaned. People clean their own dryer lint.

Now this strikes me as socially responsible and morally upright. But I feel obliged to check beforehand anyway, because you never know, and if other people do too, well, it's consuming a bite extra of everyone's life to check before and clean after. Can I condone that? On the other hand, can I let concerns of efficiency disrupt this community of ethical behavior?

[Poll #24924]

Comments

[ziactrice.livejournal.com]

Always check and clean after. This is to prevent the dryer catching fire! Who wants to take a chance on that?

Oh, and stick a vacuum hose attachment down it twice a year to get out the bits that fall below the screen. Again, so it will not catch fire. Fire in the laundry room isn't fun. ;) I think it is worth the time spent.

[beegle.livejournal.com]

I can understand "check and clean regularly", but why after?

I can't quite understand how something'd catch file while it was sitting there cooling. While the hot air's blowing across it, sure. That indicates, to me, the importance of checking or cleaning before. If it hasn't managed to burst into flame by the time the dryer turns off, what'd make it catch fire later (other than weird stuff like "I had gasoline all over my cloths")?

[ziactrice.livejournal.com]

Well, you'd really have to ask a person who is a professional regarding fires and how such get accidentally started, but at a guess, I'd say that the heat is still high when the dryer stops... and it is no longer blowing, so the heat is not being as immediately dispersed/cooled. The metal components may still be quite roasty, after all.

For another guess, if you have an electrical short either in the dryer, or nearby enough to throw actual sparks into the lint, it could start a fire quite quickly. I retain a small bag of lint in my cupboard (at some remove from the dryer), to use as kindling to start my fireplace wood. It works very well.

But, take this all with a grain of salt. I am by no means an expert on possible fire hazards. I've simply read the warnings in my dryer's manual.