Ways You Can Prevent Fires in Lubbock, Tx Caused by Clogged Dryer Vents

7/2/2019 (Permalink)

Preventing fires in your home can be as easy as cleaning out your lint trap.

Ways You Can Prevent Fires Caused by Clogged Dryer Vents

It is no surprise to most people that having a fire within the home is incredibly damaging to anything in its path. What you probably may not realize is that, most times, fires can easily be prevented from starting in the first place. Your household dryer is a great example of this since many homeowners deal with dryer related fires all the time and the usual culprit would be a completely clogged dryer vent. In this particular case, the fire can be prevented if you maintain your dryer well throughout the year and ensure that its vent is kept clean and clear of buildup.

There are over 15,000 calls to local fire departments every single year for home-related fires and smoke issues. The unfortunate part is that a lot of these fires are caused by clogged dryer vents within the home. Some of these fires are very minimal, but others have been incredibly damaging when not caught in time.

To understand how these types of fires start within the home, you may want to know more about how dryers work. Some homeowners who are new to appliances and home maintenance may not even know that their dryer needs to be maintained. The way that dryers work is by creating hot air in the drum itself, and this is the hot air that is going to dry your clothing. You probably know of the small lint trap on the front of your dryer when you open its door, but excess lint passes through this filter and goes through the dryer vent. The dryer vent is often located on the outside of your home so that the hot air can be released outside. Because dryers get so hot, this hot air that is being pushed out of the dryer vent to the outside world can heat up any lint that has built up in that area and start a fire. Fires related to clogged dryer vents can cause damage to a person's home.

The best way to prevent fires, in this case, is to clean out the lint hose often. This is recommended to anyone who owns a dryer. There are special tools and services that can help to get this particular vent cleaned for you.

According to the experts at SERVPRO of Southwest Lubbock, they offer some of the best tips for watching out for some of the obvious warning signs that your dryer is clogged and may result in fire at some point in the near future:

1. If it takes longer than about 45 minutes to dry your clothing, it could be a sign that the dryer vent is clogged.

2. Your clothes are roasting hot to the touch after they have gone through a dry cycle.

3. The flapper on the dryer's vent may not open entirely when the appliance is actually on.

Preventing a Fire with Your Dryer 

1. You should clean the vent of your dryer at least twice each year.

2. Make sure to clean out the lint trap inside of the dryer thoroughly before each cycle.

3. For those individuals who are noticing any of the above-mentioned warning signs, make sure to contact a professional company to have the appliance repaired and cleaned.

For those homeowners who were not so lucky as to catch the warning signs in time, fire damage can be a daunting thing to clean up on your own. This is where the professionals of SERVPRO of Southwest Lubbock come in handy, and they can work diligently on your home's fire restoration when it is most convenient for you. Make sure to contact SERVPRO of Southwest Lubbock at the first sign of fire damage so that the issue can be addressed immediately.