OT:Clothes Dryer fire waiting to happen

The motor on my 32+ Kenmore electric dryer froze up. Not to mention, all the paint is gone from the drum. Had a used motor and fixed it. I can't beleive how much lint was in there + $.82. I think the dryer is a fire waiting to happen.

What I would like to know is how many bad experiences, including fires, have you had with clother dryers and washers. Looking to buy a new washer/dryer. Not really interested in what was made 30 years ago, because they don't make them to last anymore. What I'm interested in is the bad and ugly experiences you have had with machines made in the past 5 years or less.

I think the newer Kenmore/whirlpools dryers are made the same way they were made 32 years ago. I still can't believe how much lint I removed.

Thanks
George

am insurance adjuster for 25 years (no I dont steal from people) Had only 1 fire directly a clothes dryer, family had 6 kids and said washer and dryer never stopped running. Admitted that lint trapped had not been checked for over a week, something like 10+ loads, noticed last 2 loads it smelled really hot and kept running it. Lint burned,some clothes left in it as well, rest of house smoked up, and YES fire was paid for , not the dryer though. Take back off mine (also 10 plus year old Kenmore) once and year and vacumm out. If you do reasonble cleaning, trap every dryer cycle fire not your worry, how long any lasts is another story, Mark

Marilyn uses the lint from the dryer to start the burn barrel. She just touches the stuff with a match and she has a fire going.

(quoted from post at 05:29:53 12/03/10) Marilyn uses the lint from the dryer to start the burn barrel. She just touches the stuff with a match and she has a fire going.

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You must have the [color=red:6bca505524][size=18:6bca505524][b:6bca505524]Platinum Man Card[/b:6bca505524][/size:6bca505524][/color:6bca505524] ............ :shock:

Wife takes out the trash and you are still able to set here and write about it. :roll:

My son was in Boy Scouts. One of the leaders told the boys to save lint from the clothes dryer because he said that it was the best use to start the campfire.

We have a strong marriage-she doesn't mess with my shop and I don't mess with her house. Then there's the extenuating circumstances. "Hey, honey, could you............... Jim

As a fire fighter for 35 years I saw a few dryer fires. To the best of my knowledge none of the dryers were equipped with automatic lint screen cleaners, So I believe the fires were all attributed to operator error or negligence.

George we bought a 1 year old stack washer dryer for main level to prevent stairs. Thought use only shirts small things, like her clothes. Have been amazed at how good it is Only use the basement set when I come in from shop with really dirty clothes. Stack is generely good size for 2 people and saves space have in bathroom. Bill

Never ahd a fire in one,but it scares the crap out of me. Nothing goes up like lint. I save it out of the trap and use it to start the fire to burn trash. It only takes a spark to start it. The stuff lights quicker than gasoline.

Neighbor"s house burned down, started in the dryer. Getting in to the mechanism every few years is a good idea. Some lint does get past the filter. Found enough when I replaced the heater.

Dito the showcrop--less 2 years from his contrabution. Also probably only fifteen to twenty dryer fires.

Just had one a month ago, but I kind of think all were electrical, or otherwise to far gone to predict for certian.

Dryers lint traps should be cleaned Every load, and on some items half way through the cycle. Your dryer can't be efficent if there is a restriction in the air movment.

Some folks vent right back into the house to save heat. This is good unless it is in a small room, and it just keeps bringing in more damp air.

I clean my lint trap every load. The lint I was talking about was found inside the dryer, around the motor, near the heat box, places you wouldn't expect to find it, places you don't see like around the blower fan and the hose.

No one has said which dryer is the most dangerous or breaks down just after it goes out of warantee.

George,

We bought a new Whirlpool electric clothes dryer 2 years ago. It was mid line, not bottom or top of the price models. What a piece of CRAP! The drum would get into some awful loud vibration sounding like some giant tennis shoes were being tumbled in the drum. We finally had the warantee service come out, and the guy replaced the drum. The gauge metal was so thin I could dent it with my finger. The new drum was even more out of round than the original, but the service guy predicted that. He spent some time pushing on the high side of the drum while it was still uninstalled, trying to get it to be more round. He completed the installation and it had the same loud thumping sound that it had before, but less often. For whatever reason it seems to be behaving for the last 6 months.

Are you going to get any better product with a different brand name?? Whirlpool has bought out all the other domestic manufacturers. Of course my "smart" son says "you need to get a LG brand" made in Korea and pay some huge fortune for it. When he bought his LG, it was delivered and the guys said be careful, this is one heavy dryer. It has a 200 # block of concrete in the base to keep it from vibrating across the floor. (I think it was the dryer w/ the concrete, but he bought both washer and dryer at the same time).

Old fashioned as I am, I will not buy a Korean washer/dryer, nor any of their cars, nor any Hondas or Toyotas either. I want to spend my money on products that keep US workers employed, and keep the profits here in the US for greater manufacturing expansion....but it sure is hard to do with some of the crap US manufacturers are now putting out.

I am glad that I am not an appliance repairman. I'd go nuts if I had to work on crap every hour of every day. I'd rather load and spread manure. Sorry about the rant!

Paul in MN

There are more people employed here in Ohio building Hondas than Ford And Chevy so acording to you Ohio is not a part of the USA.

What is worst are those people who run the dryer discharge through those plastic flex hoses.
The corrugations and droop loops trap lint fibers.Plastic burns at a lower temp than metal too.
Of course how many people mount the dryer against an outside wall with a direct vent through the wall as they should?

Wow, that is some giant leap in the chain of logic.

Now if they would keep the corporate profits here and reinvest, it would make more sense to me. Instead they have huge tax benefits helping to pay for the capital expense of building the factories. States have competed to provide enormous tax incentives to get the "new factories" located in their state so the politicians can claim they provided the jobs.

I'm glad you like working for the Japanese and contributing to their wealth.

P

Paul, Thanks for giving me the bad one not to buy. I worked on a Whirlpool for a neighbor that was 3 years old and the motor was bad. Taking Whirlpool of my to buy list.

Maytay, 30 years ago, put concrete in their washers to keep them from shaking.

Go tell that to all the people working in these factories and see how many would prefer to not have a job. There are more overseas products sold in N. America than anyone can begin to fathom. There's always going to be. What's so wrong with these companies setting up a factory and employing a lot of american workers and paying them in american funds? It's certainly not a sweat shop paying $10 a day. The gov't. does help them financially to get set up. Sometimes they help way too much but they also get a whole lot of money back in taxes. The problem I have is that the small businesses can't get any kind of assistance to help create more jobs or even stay afloat. In Canada the gov't. brags about how many jobs they created and saved. Most of these jobs are for infrastructure and go to great big companies. It does create some jobs and keeps people working but it doesn't help the smaller guys at all. In fact it often hurts the smaller outfits because the jobs are way too big for them to even bid on. Dave

Our Maytags are over 30 yrs old and still going so I can't help with selection of a new set.

Did have a lint problem. Dryer exhaust had louvers that extend when the dryer is running. I had noticed clothes weren't getting dry like they should. Then I noticed the louvers weren't extending even though the dryer was running. Shut the dryer off and started to check things out.

I pulled up the louvers and found that over the years, bits of lint that had escaped the lint trap had built up in the exhaust port. I started pulling out wads of very, very warm lint. Had a wad of lint the size of a softball.

Now I periodically check the exhaust port for lint buildup.

I was working on my dryer a few years ago, and found a bunch of charred lint on the floor of the dryer. This was a gas fired dryer. Although the burner is shrouded, apparently there was some kind of backfire. Now, the lower cover remains open, and I inspect and vacuum it regularly!

Aloha,
Never leave your home with the dryer working and it is a good idea to have a smoke detector in the laundry room.

Mahalo,
doogdoog