Lint filters in clothes dryers
Lint filters in clothes dryers are clog-prone bottlenecks — on purpose. Without them, lint drifts through the exhaust duct. It can wiring duct lodge oncable duct protruding screws used incorrectly to join metal ductwork, build up at elbows and reach the end of the line to clog the exterior vent hood.
With dryers fueled on natural gas, clogs can be lethal. Unable to escape outside, carbon monoxide, the deadly byproduct of combustion, can flow wire duct into the house. And with gas- or electric-powered machines, blockages near the dryer can ignite and trigger major house fires. Dried lint makes perfect tinder, and contributes to some of the 15,000 clothes-dryer fires that occur each year. Even a more minor blockage can reduce dryer efficiency by reducing the airflow plastic duct. That makes the appliance run longer and use more fuel to dry clothes.
Blockages also cause overheating, which shortens the dryer’s life span and risks wiring and motor damage.