Tumble dryer
The one appliance whose routine cleaning task is printed under a fire-hazard heading rather than under care and cleaning.
Precautions
- Check the manufacturer's instructions
- Disconnect from the power supply first
- Keep away from children and pets
In detail
A tumble dryer's maintenance looks like housekeeping and is not classified as such by the people who make them. The manufacturer prints the lint instruction under the heading 'To minimize the possibility of a fire hazard': clean the lint filter BEFORE EACH LOAD to prevent lint accumulation inside the dryer or in the room, and do not operate the dryer without the filter in place. The same section directs keeping the area around and underneath the appliance free of accumulated lint, which is the part almost nobody does, because the accumulation that matters is the portion that escapes the filter rather than the visible mat on it. Two further instructions concern what goes in. Articles treated with combustible substances — cleaners and some spot removers are named — must not be dried, because the dryer heats whatever residue the fabric still carries. And fibreglass articles are excluded outright, because remaining glass particles can be picked up by clothing in later loads and cause skin irritation: an appliance retaining what passed through it, which is a contamination problem rather than a cleaning one.
Related
- Tumble dryer has the component Lint filter
Hacks and claims involving this
- Cleaning the lint filter when it looks full Does not work
Sources for this page
Sources
Owner's Manual: Dryers DDE5207M, DDG5287M
GE Appliances · Manufacturer documentation
Relied on for: That the lint filter is cleaned before each load to prevent lint accumulation inside the dryer or in the room, that the dryer must not be operated without the filter in place, that this appears under a fire-hazard heading, and that fibreglass articles must not be dried because remaining particles can be picked up by later loads. (states this directly)
Verification: a person has read the passage relied on.
Read on — The safety instructions, under the heading 'To minimize the possibility of a fire hazard'. Supports the claim as stated.
Last reviewed by a person on .