One of the biggest fire hazards in our home is our washers and dryers. These two home appliances are necessary for getting our laundry done but did you know that they can cause devastating fires. We begin posting about dryer safety tips last time and our Raleigh laundromat will continue the discussion in this post.
Dryer Safety | Raleigh Laundromat
Current statistics show that between the years of 2010-2014 an estimated 15,970 home fires were the direct result of a clothes dryer or a washing machine malfunction. The annual losses were more than $238 million in the total property. There were also 440 injuries and 13 deaths also reported.
Did you know that clothes dryers are responsible for approximately 92% of all the fires? A washing machine fire comes in at 4%, and if you have a washer and dryer combination these accounted for 5% of all fires. As we noted in our last blog post a direct result that contributes to these home fires involving the clothes dryer is not cleaning or maintaining the machine properly. Mechanical and electrical failures are the direct result of most washing machine fires. Items that are being dried in a dryer also can contribute to a fire. Taking care not to dry items that are not recommended for your home dryer such as items that contain rubber or plastic products will go a long way in preventing any accidents.
There are some other things that you can do to operate your machines safely. One of those would be to make a certain that after each load of laundry you do you clean your lint filter in the dryer. Length is very combustible and the temperature of the dryer can easily reach 550° meaning this would be a common source of the ignition and the fire will result. Making it a habit to always clean the lint filter before beginning a new load or as soon as a load of closing is done will ensure that this won’t happen to you.
Another great tip is to make certain that your venting materials are made of a flexible metal or are made of something rigid. Not using the proper type of material for your vent can create clogs, trap lint, or cause a blockage in your venting system. Any of these can cause a fire with your dryer.
You will also want to be sure that your machines are plugged in correctly. Dryers need to be accurately grounded and the proper electric plug and outlet used. To double check all of your connections you can hire a licensed professional to come into your home and check your dryer and your washer to make certain that your electrical outlets are not overloaded and are the proper ones that need to be used. Often when electrical sockets are overloaded they can blow fuses or trip circuit breaker’s and cause a fire.
One last tip is to make certain that you never leave your dryer running when you are away from home or when the family is sleeping. This is a good safety tip along with keeping a fire extinguisher near your machines in case you do need them.
If you find yourself behind on a mountain of laundry, check out our Raleigh Laundromat. Laundry Express offers state of the art machines for washing and drying. We also offer laundry services that include dry cleaning, wash, dry, fold services, and stain removal. Don’t get behind when we can help! Visit us soon!
