Laying in wait...
@BearArtistLady (5559)
United States
May 18, 2024 11:14am CST
I woke up at 6 a.m. and decided to sleep in...I made it to 6:45 a.m.. I finally had to give up and get up. Petey was waiting at the foot of the bed. I did my usual stuff and came out to the studio and sat with my tea, and Petey in my lap. I got to slowly wake up and then when it got to 8 a.m. I decided to do my laundry.
I got dressed, gathered up my laundry and headed for the laundry room. I got the wash started okay and decided to check the dryer. We have certain rules, including not to wash and dry blankets and stuff that will throw heavy amounts of lint. I had a really funny feeling (I used to work in a laundromat and spent a lot of time cleaning lint traps and the vent tubes that carry the over flow and smaller particles out of the building.) that I should check the lint trap. BOY WAS I RIGHT!!!! I pulled the screen out and it had been cleaned rather sloppily and the rest of the area that handles the lint was loaded. I had to come home and get a flashlight and something to deal with the rest of the lint.
I pulled out a good pound of lint from the lint trap!!! A lot went down the vent tube too. I am sooo glad I checked the trap. People think that if there is lint in the trap it still won't catch fire or anything like that. I hate to tell you this, but lint has a low ignition temperature and will burn like fury! Please make sure that your screens are clean and your vent tubes are clean and are cleaned periodically, just for a matter of safety. We had ours out in the country so that the bits that didn't land in the trap went out the vent tube and the bird had a hay day building their nests from the lint.
Anyhow, just PLEASE make sure your lint trap and lint screen on your dryers are clean and that the vents are clear.
2 people like this
3 responses
@RasmaSandra (74599)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
18 May
We have a washing machine here that everyone in the house can use, I don't even know where the lint trap is,
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (74599)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
20 May
@BearArtistLady well here I usually only use the washer, The dryer takes up too much electric so my friend does not like to encourage usage of it, I dry my clothes either in the sun or put them over chairs by a fan until they dry,
@BearArtistLady (5559)
• United States
19 May
The washer usually will not produce too much in the way of lint. When the clothing goes in the dryer and tumbles fibers come off the clothing and are blown into a screen and collected so that you don't have strange fibers on your clothes. The lint trap is in the dryer and is a screen with a pull handle so you can pull it out and scrape the lint off the screen and throw the lint out. I was talking to my neighbor last night and she confirmed that if it isn't taken care of properly it doesn't matter if the dryer is gas or electric the lint can easily catch fire. I fished a bale full of lint out of the dryer after I checked the lint trap and while it had been "Kind of cleaned" there still was a bunch of lint in the trap. I cleaned the trap on the dryer on my home every time I used it, including the vent pipe to the outside.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (97279)
• Marion, Ohio
18 May
I always clean mine. I never leave it running if we are not home either
1 person likes this
@BearArtistLady (5559)
• United States
19 May
It seems like I am destined to be the laundry mistress here. When the washer doesn't work I end up calling the office and telling them that they need to empty the coin boxes (so far that has been the only cause of the washer not working). It also seems that monthly I need to clean the vent pipe and clean the area that the lint trap is inserted. People will put load after load of wash into dry and then clean the trap only once, thinking that's the way you do laundry. They don't realize that the lint clogs up and somewhere along the line they could end up burning up their last load and the apartment building.
None of us dry our clothes when we are set to go out...there is no telling who would end up with the load-sorry I don't want strangers wearing my underwear! I don't think they would be interested in my jeans and tee shirts. They might be recognized in a "T" that says "I do what I want" with an angry cat on the front, or a rat and a donkey on the shirt and it says "I don't give a (cartoon rat with an 's and a picture of a donkey that represents an "a*s"). That's only the tip of the collection...my cat tee's are very recognizable.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (97279)
• Marion, Ohio
19 May
@BearArtistLady Many people don't know how fast that stuff can catch fire. I hope it never happens
@zainkhan121 (846)
• Pakistan
18 May
Your experience working in a laundromat has certainly paid off. Thanks for the important reminder to keep lint traps and vent tubes clean—it's a small task that can make a big difference in home safety. Enjoy the rest of your day, and kudos for sharing such a crucial tip!
1 person likes this
@BearArtistLady (5559)
• United States
19 May
Thank you! I would hate for any of my MyLot friends to go through the heart breaking experience of having their home burn down. While my home was burned down by the electric company, I know of a LOT of homes that have been burned down by over loaded lint traps.
Please enjoy your day, and thank you for your comment.
