I finally stopped washing the lint filter every single load

Been seeing a lot of people say you gotta clean the lint filter on dryers every time. I used to do it too but after 10 years on the road and fixing my own machines I started noticing something. If you got a good quality dryer and your lint screen is in decent shape you can go 3 or 4 loads easy before it starts affecting airflow. I tested it with a manometer on a Whirlpool in my own house. After 3 loads the static pressure barely moved. After 5 loads it dropped maybe 15 percent. The real issue is people forget to clean the vent tube behind the machine that runs to outside. That clogs way faster than the screen does and causes fires. Has anyone else actually measured the difference instead of just guessing?

4 comments

4 Comments

casey8187d ago

Read somewhere that most dryer fires actually start in the duct, not the filter, so you might be onto something. Guess I'll keep checking my vent hose more often now.

thea6027d ago

Actually the filter still catches way more fires than ducts do.

the_alice7d ago

Totally agree @casey818, it's like how everyone obsesses over cleaning the lint trap but forgets the pipe behind the wall is doing the real damage. Same thing with gutters - everyone checks the downspout but never where it actually drains.

the_oliver3d ago

Wait wait wait, hold up. That "read somewhere" is doing a lot of heavy lifting here because I just checked and apparently 27 percent of dryer fires start in the duct versus only like 7 percent at the filter itself. I had to actually look it up because I didn't believe it either. So yeah, we've all been Sherlock Holmes-ing the lint trap while the real danger is just chillin in the wall behind the dryer this whole time. That's honestly kind of terrifying if you think about it, especially for people who rent and can't exactly rip apart their walls to check.