Clean your lint screen; it may prevent a potential tragedy!

Photo credit – flickr – Tracy O (CC)

My daughter just sent me this and I wanted to share it with you.  I read a similar story about a year ago and having been following these recommendations ever since.  This is information all households should be aware of!

“The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.) He told us that he wanted to show us something; he took the filter over to the sink, ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material – I’m sure you know what your dryer’s lint filter looks like.

WELL…the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn’t go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that’s what burns out the heating unit. You can’t SEE the film , but it’s there. It’s what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free – that nice fragrance too, you know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box, well this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen This is also what causes dryer units to catch fire & potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (& to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out & wash it with hot soapy water & an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long!”  {Source: http://www.aimlessdirection.com/2008/17-tips-to-make-your-life-easier/#ixzz2BTIpiwS1}

When I originally read this story I went to my dryer & tested my screen by running water on it. The water barely ran through at all and the water collected in the mesh screen. I washed it with warm soapy water and an old toothbrush,  rinsed it, and the water ran right through the screen!!  I now clean the filter this way on a monthly basis.