WASHINGTON — Several local fires have been caused by clothes dryers this winter, including one on Super Bowl Sunday that caused an estimated $1 million in damage at a Bethesda apartment. But simple safety tips in the laundry room can lower the risk.
“Clean the lint screen filter before and after each time you use a load of clothes; clean the dryer vent and exhaust system periodically,” says Pete Piringer, public information officer for the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service.
Fire investigators believe a blocked dryer vent caused Sunday’s fire on Dudley Lane in Bethesda, Maryland, Sunday, and after firefighters put out the fire, they spent time visiting other laundry rooms in the neighborhood.
“As firefighters investigated, they found, in fact, several instances where they had 100 percent blockage of the dryer vents. They pulled out handfuls, fistfuls of lint that were completely blocking the dryer vent systems,” Piringer says. “If you have any kind of blockage in your vent pipe it could be a problem.”
Other safety tips offered by Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service include keeping the area around the dryer clean and free from clutter and always using the appropriate electrical outlet for dryers and other major appliances.
Here are some other tips from Montgomery County Fire & Rescue:
- Have a certified service technician clean and inspect the dryer and venting system regularly.
- Replace plastic or vinyl exhaust hoses with rigid or flexible metal venting, which provides maximum airflow.
- Don’t leave a dryer operating if you are not home.
- Don’t forget to read the manufacturer warnings in the user manual and on the inside of the dryer door.
- Don’t dry any item containing foam, rubber or plastic, such as bathroom and non-slip rugs and athletic shoes.
- Don’t dry any item that contains glass fiber materials, such as a blouse or sweater with glass buttons or decorations.
- Don’t overload the dryer with wet clothes.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates there are more than 15,000 clothes dryer fires nationwide each year.
