Everybody Out!

Polly, I do hope your sister is OK. What a nasty thing to have happen. =20

-Irene

------------- "You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough."

- Mae West

Thank you, Irene. She's fine and has a new dryer and bit of wall. I just thought I needed to nag everybody. I am truly blessed with a vigilant DH even though he truly terrifies me. Yesterday, he decided to go on the roof and clean all those little vent-thingies from the kitchen and bathroom piping. Surely upset the Yorkie. He didn't know what he was barking at. Polly

-Irene

------------- "You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough."

- Mae West

Glad they are ok Polly. If I remember right someone on the group here had a big fire from a dryer vent clog a couple of years ago. We have to watch for black widows in the vicinity of dryer vents and such. Yuck.

Tea here is always unsweetened. I have a collection of pretty glass sugar and creamers hiding somewhere so if you need sugar you get an old jam jar that is full of the stuff. Drop on by anytime.

Taria

Polly Esther wrote:

Thank you, Polly. That is very good advice. I would also like to add that we ought to be sure that the vent is covered with some kind of screen. We had an awful incident once where a very large snake crawled up the vent, and into the inner works of the dryer. I did not know this until I ran the dryer on "high" for a good while and began to smell an awful burning smell.

Also, a friend of mine's home burned because of a dryer fire. She started the dryer and left home. So I am always mindful of those two things.

I am so glad you came out okay.

Sherry

Hey Polly: You just reminded me to call my appliance guy. I have him come over to clean my dryer for me. He pulls the dryer out from the wall and cleans everything on the outside including the floor under the dryer, Then he takes the back off. I was amazed the first time he did that. I couldn't believe the lint buildup in there. You'd be surprised at the build up on the motor.

Kate South Mississippi

I think this is something we do need to be nagged about, one of those jobs we forget or put off doing. Had to have our's looked at a while back and when the tech pulled it out from the wall, the back vent was very clogged, with leaves and all sorts of stuff! I clean the front filter all time but never gave the rear one a thought.

Wendy in Nsw

We've had two 'scorchings', but neither from the Tumble Drier.

The first was from the magnifyer on the sewing light I have next to my chair for hand sewing. I hadn't put the cover on after I used it, and couldn't understand where the smell of burning was coming from. The sun had gone through the mirror and burned a hole in my sewing bag.

The second was very recent. The kitchen fitters changed my 'old fashioned' inset ceiling lights to halogen what I call twinkle lights. Our ceilings are low and when one of the new cupboard doors was open its natural stopping place was right under a light. Halogen lights give out a lot of heat - reminded me of the old infra-red heaters - and the burn went right through the veneer. We now have a new door and DH has chaged the lights back to the old fashioned type that use normal bulbs. The bulbs may get hot but they don't radiate heat.

When the man came to change the door yesterday I suggested that they use it as a learning experience. If we'd have gone out and left the light on and the door hadn't been shut we wouldn't have a house now. I wanted the old fashioned lights anyway (the old ones had become brittle) but the firm said they were unavailable - we shouldn't have believed them - we got them straight away from our local lighting place.

Good point! And do you prefer any particular type of tea? My dryer doesn't have a hose to the great outdoors, but a plastic tank for condensation water instead. And I do clean the filter frequently -lint swiped off the screen thingy after every load, and rinse out the condensation filter once a month. Do I get a prize? Roberta in D

"Polly Esther" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com...

Absolutely certainly you get a prize. Take the entire weekend off and do just as you please. Create something outrageously scrappy; that is a fun venture for you isn't it? . . . and eat dessert first. Polly

Gotcha! Chocolate coming right up! (And I just started quilting a batik scrappy.) Roberta in D

"Polly Esther" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com...

ALready done, ma'am!! Ours doesn't vent outside, so we tend to get a massive lint build-up fairly quickly. I vacuum ALL around the dryer and down in the lint trap. DH moved it out and took the back off to clean the insides for me, so I think we are okay for a while now.

Larisa

Thank you Polly. We have one of those long reaching dryer cleaning brushes so we are fire safe here. However, in my area there is trouble brewing with rodents. Too many of them and drought making it hard for them to find food and water. Add that it is September and eventually the temperatures outside will start dropping out of the 90s and you know those critters will be moving indoors if possible. I've also got construction nearby which sets them on the move too. I don't think any of them would live long in my house since there are 3 cats here, but I still worry. Especially since I discovered there is a family of them living among the running juniper on the hill at the road. I have no choice but to put out traps. I won't use poison because the neighbors have outdoor pets. I had thought about checking the basement drains to make sure the covers were in place, but would not have thought of the dryer vent. Thanks for the heads up.

There is a school in a nearby county that had to close because the building was suddenly over run with both mice and rats looking for food and water. The students are going to a different school until the rodents are gone and the building is thoroughly cleaned again. Unfortunately this has caused local news shows to run bits about rodent control that advocate putting out poisons that won't kill until the rodents drink water which is not provided at the poison bait point. So now there are going to be a lot of outdoor pets dying because they caught and ate poisoned rodents that were hunting for water. It is a gruesome death for a pet that is preventable by using non-poisonous instant killing traps, or non-killing trap and release methods for rodent control. I don't understand why the news shows are pushing the poison when there are more humane, safer, and faster methods. Debra in VA See my quilts at

Actually, I've just had all that done by the repair dude at my new house (home warranty); dryer was getting hot, but not hot enough to dry the clothes. Turned out there was a bird's nest in the tube! All spiffy cleaned out now...

--pig

So glad it wasn't worse for her. This is one less that should not be learned from personal experience. While you are at it everyone, wash your vent screen with a soft toothbrush until the water runs through it. I have heard that not doing so regularly is another hazard. Don't know if it is true, but I don't want to take the chance.

Thanks so much for the warning Polly.

Polly, my dear friend........ I honestly think I learn more here than anywhere else. Being a first time home-owner, and living alone, I'm learning A LOT of things by trial and error. I knew about the dryer vent, and the outside vent, but had NO idea one was supposed to pull the dryer out and rip it apart for cleaning. I did that today. I've lived in my house a little over 3 years, and NEVER cleaned the tube that leads from dryer to vent, or even pulled the dryer away from the wall. I gasped when I saw what was back there! If we are, indeed, ashes to ashes and dust to dust - someone was either comin' or goin' under my dryer!! I took the back off, took the hose off, gave it all a good vacuuming and cleaning, and she's good as gold. My goodness!!! I'm flat-out amazed nothing horrifying happened. Now, what else should I be cleaning, inspecting and checking on? I really need a class in "home owner - 101".

Thank you! Patti in Seattle

"Polly Esther" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com:

I don't have a dryer so i am ok there..but i used to use my dishwasher at night, cheaper on electric and dishes ready in the morning, until i saw a program on the British tv about a house that burned down because of a fire caused by a dishwasher doing his dishwashers duty at night.. the family was rescued just in time.. That made me realise that living alone makes me extra vulnerable , when i sleeping there is no one else there to wake up in time and warn me.. so i only use my dishwasher and washing machine during the day and when i am at home.. You never know, eh? So indeed.. as our lady P.Esther said.. go check your dryers..plz.

FiederEls.

Great reminder, Polly. I have two dryer lint cleaners that I bought on QVC. One is a long and skinny brush that goes down into the front lint trap, and the other is a ball shaped brush on a long wire that goes into the vent from outside. I've pulled quite a few nasty fur balls out with both, and I never, ever leave the dryer on if I leave the house.

The long skinny brush is great for cleaning behind and under the refrigerator, too.

Denise

google found me this, Patti.

"Patti S" wrote...