Home Clothes Dryer Saves Labor
Typical Clothes Dryer
Any housekeeper easily understands that washing and drying clothes is no picnic. It’s hard work that must be done every single week, sometimes even daily if you have a large family. A washing machine and clothes dryer are used so often, they tend to be taken for granted. But for safety reasons and to save dollars on power and water, both of these home appliances should be used with care and safety in mind.
We have a few tips to help keep your clothes dryer in a safe mode.
- Reduce Drying Time. A way to save money and prolong the life of your clothes dryer is to reduce drying time. There are several ways to do this. One way is to place smaller loads in the dryer each time. The dryer will dry them evenly in less time and also leave fewer wrinkles. Too large of a load will cause the clothes dryer to dry unevenly and the clothes will have many wrinkles. You may need to run it for another cycle to finish the job and in some cases the clothes dryer may overheat from an overload.
- Keep the clothes dryer lint-free. Frequent cleaning of the lint filter after most every load is needed to keep the dryer running at its best. You can also save dryer time by hanging clothes outdoors to dry when possible. When the weather is nice and warm, the clothes will dry quickly and have a fresh smell. This will save on your power bill and help prolong the clothes dryer life.
- Clean the Clothes Dryer Often. Besides wiping lint after every load you should clean out the extra lint within the vent that the filter did not catch. Do this at least once a month to prevent build up. Use a vacuum hose or lint brush to remove excess lint. It is good to also get a qualified service technician to clean your dryer thoroughly about once every two to three years. The technician will take your clothes dryer apart and give it a thorough cleaning piece by piece.
- Clothes Dryer Safety. For venting use all metal ducting instead of plastic or vinyl exhaust hoses. Plastic and vinyl are flammable. Avoid drying clothes that have had flammable substances spilled on them such as gasoline, kerosene, cooking oil, alcohol, and solvents. These can give off vapors that might cause a fire when exposed to excessive heat in the dryer. Clothing items with these types of spills should be washed thoroughly several times and hung to dry to be sure all the flammable substance is gone. Other items to avoid drying in clothes dryer are synthetic fabrics, rubber, plastic, and foam. These retain heat and can cause the dryer to overheat or catch fire.
- When installing a gas or electric clothes dryer in a new home, select a spot on an outside wall so you will be able to ventilate it properly. The steam must have a safe outlet and inside walls make it difficult when seeking places to insert a vent hole to the outdoors.
- You should never leave home or fall asleep with the clothes dryer running and always keep a fire extinguisher in the same room as the dryer or nearby if possible in case a fire does occur.
There are Alternatives to the Standard Electric Clothes Dryer
If you live traveling the open road or if you live in a small apartment where there is little room for a standard electric clothes dryer you can find alternatives. One type unit that many find useful is the spin dryer. A spin dryer is a compact dryer that can easily be transported when traveling. It plugs into a 110V outlet is very gentle on clothing and has a 12.2 lb capacity for wet laundry and a 5.5 lb capacity for dry laundry.
You will want to keep these and other safety and convenience tips in mind while doing your everyday tasks. You should see an improvement on your electric bill and with how well your clothes dryer performs for you.