That'll wake ya up

[uncledj]

Was working out in the yard, wife's in the house doin' laundry. I came in to heat up some pizza for lunch, and went up to the loft to watch TV. Wife's sitting in the recliner and says "I smell something burning".

I don't smell it yet, but I head downstairs and it hits me like a brick....dryer's on fire...flames starting to shoot out of the seams.....I got a pot of water and threw it on (electric dryer)....grabbed a fire extinguisher and it did nuthin'....gauge shows good.....OH CRAP .....ran out to the work van and grabbed that extinguisher, which did the trick. At this point the house is full of smoke...wife took the dogs and went out on the porch to get air....I set fans up in the windows to create a cross breeze through the house, and now, 3 hrs later, the smell isn't as bad, but still noticeable. Probably gonna have to live with it for a while....

Thank GOD I was at home, and in the house when it happened.

Looks like it was electrical....or perhaps friction from the drum to the cabinet...????

I dunno what started it, but it was a pretty scary experience. Bunch of clothes thrown out...that fire extinguisher powder went everywhere.

What a mess....

At least we didn't lose the house.

[MikeWa]

Whoa! That was close. Glad everything turned out ok for you. Dryers and clothes can be replaced.

 

Mike

[XV1100SE]

Glad you smelled the smoke in time !

Surprised smoke detectors didn't go off.

[uncledj]

Glad you smelled the smoke in time !

Surprised smoke detectors didn't go off.

Took the smoke detectors out years ago. We used to supplement our heat with an old wood burner, and it'd set them off too much.

I'll be putting some new ones up.

[ragtop69gs]

When was the last time you cleaned all the lint out of the interior of the cabinet and vent pipe?

[uncledj]

When was the last time you cleaned all the lint out of the interior of the cabinet and vent pipe?

I think it was last Summer. I actually had the front of the cabinet off and vacumed it out. Couldn't get all of the vent pipe, which goes under the house to an outside wall, but got what I could with a brush. This scared me enough that I'm going to shorten the vent pipe as well and have a solid 4" pipe going directly through the wall, about 3' to the side of the dryer. This could'a turned out really bad. Someone was looking out for us.

[BlueSky]

My prior house had a vent line that went up the wall and crossed over the entire house under the attic floor to exit the back wall and was very susceptible to plugging. That was something I looked at when I moved. In my current home the dryer is sitting against the back wall with a 2' vent line.

[slowrollwv]

You were lucky. It could have been a lot worse. Glad everything worked out .

[bongobobny]

Yup, sounds like a classic lint fire! Glad things didn't get worse! Glad you 2 are alive to tell about it and you have a home to sleep in tonight!

[Larry1963]

Yes glad you were home and it worked out ok. Seems you must of kept your head cool to be able to go out and get another fire extinguisher. I freak when something catches on fire.

But not to smart throwing water on it, read the article here on being shocked. if you would of got shocked and passed out, just tell your wife to stick her fingers...... Well you read the article

 

Again honestly I am glad no one was hurt. You should call a professional cleaner, they will get that smoke smell out in one day.

[Venturous Randy]

Do you have home owners insurance? If you do they will clean up the mess and probably paint the inside of your house for you.

Randy

[Flyinfool]

This has me thinking now.

I often put the last load in the dryer and go to bed or even leave the house. I have to rethink that now.

 

Glad no one was hurt.

 

The company I work for makes a cleaner specifically to get smoke odors out. It is used by professional carpet cleaners for after fire cleanup. It does an amazing job and has no odor of its own. The longer you wait the harder it is to get the smell out.

[cowpuc]

,, not good,,, not good at all

 

Glad you folks are ok Unc,, that stuff can be deadly!! Know exactly what you mean about the wood stove setting off the smoke alarms - dealt with it for years. I found that by placing them in specific areas throughout the house they still worked good and cut down on the false alarms. I put them suckers everywhere - in the attic and in the crawl space too (old house didnt have a basement).. I am as nervous about having a fire as I am of touching electricity

 

Sooooo glad you folks are ok my friend!!

Puc

[Hummingbird]

When Linda and I leave the house and the dryer is running she always says "better turn the dryer off til we get back"

I have always thought it silly but I was/am wrong, never know when something can happen

Glad your damage was held to clothes, some paint and of course the dryer.

[Larry1963]

When Linda and I leave the house and the dryer is running she always says "better turn the dryer off til we get back"

I have always thought it silly but I was/am wrong, never know when something can happen

Glad your damage was held to clothes, some paint and of course the dryer.

 

I am this way too, now I do go to bed with the dryer going but a fire alarm is in the laundry room. I am the crazy guy that goes through out the house and unplugs everything except the frig when I am gone more than a day.