Do you leave the dryer running when you're not home?

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Forum -> Household Management -> Cleaning & Laundry

View latest: 24h 48h 72h

Do you leave the dryer running when you're not home?

Yes often

63%

[ 91 ]

Only if I need to

13%

[ 20 ]

No for safety

22%

[ 32 ]

Total Votes : 143

amother

Wed, Aug 14 2024, 4:21 pm

Want to do multiple loads tomorrow and if I do 2 loads of laundry b4 work it'll make it easier for me. Can I leave the laundry running in the dryer when I'm not home? It will be on high heat as it may be a towel load.

amother

SandyBrown

Wed, Aug 14 2024, 4:22 pm

Yes. Many times.

amother

Trillium ↓

Wed, Aug 14 2024, 4:24 pm

I voted yes but I get my vents cleaned yearly

Genius ↓

Wed, Aug 14 2024, 4:26 pm

amother Trillium wrote:

I voted yes but I get my vents cleaned yearly

Me too.

mommy12

Wed, Aug 14 2024, 4:29 pm

We used to run the washer and dryer when we weren't home and then once my husband went to the basement to check on something when the washing machine was running and he saw it was smoking. From then on we only did laundry if one of us was home.

613mitzvahgirl

Wed, Aug 14 2024, 4:38 pm

I don’t.. and we get our vents cleaned yearly.. I’m too nervous too

amother

Diamond

Wed, Aug 14 2024, 4:39 pm

I haven’t done it in a very long time since I’ve heard about the danger. This was reaffirmed strongly when unfortunately a house in my city burned down because of a fire started in the dryer.

↑ Genius

Wed, Aug 14 2024, 4:49 pm

So there are two of these threads? I was trying to figure out why I don’t see my uber important post.

threads merged

amother

Tulip

Wed, Aug 14 2024, 4:51 pm

I dont know if gas or electric makes a difference.

I have gas and I had a few fires in my dryer over the years. Its a good thing I was home to stop it in time.
Also very important to clean the lint every time you do a load.
I know someone who died because of it. The dryer exploded because they didnt know to clean the lint and it backed up.

amother

Starflower

Wed, Aug 14 2024, 5:48 pm

Never even thought not to. I always leave it running when I'm out or at night when I'm going to sleep. Do you stand and watch It the whole time while it's running?
We do clean the lint every time and get our vents cleaned every year.

amother

Freesia

Wed, Aug 14 2024, 6:12 pm

amother Starflower wrote:

Wondering the same. I clean the lint every time and our vents every 2 years (our vent guy said no need to do ours yearly) and run the dryer while I sleep or I'm out all the time. I can't imagine managing all our laundry if I'm only using the dryer while I'm actively nearby

zaq

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 3:15 am

The only things I leave running when not home are the fridge, the alarm clock, and some lights.

amother

Olive

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 3:22 am

If a fire were to CH’V start in my basement and therefore presumably not be noticed for a few minutes until smoke was bad enough to set off the smoke detectors, I’d much rather not have anyone home at the time

amother

Cerise

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 3:43 am

amother Olive wrote:

Why do you assume it would take significant time to set off your smoke alarm? If it's early enough, you might be able to put it out with a fire extinguisher. Or at least call the fire department early enough so that you don't have to trash every single item in all of your house, including the top floor.

FYI, once it gets bad enough, the smoke gets into everything. Plus, I was told by a friend whose dryer fire wasn't caught in time, the fire department hose things down with chemicals to stop the fire, and that, too, destroys everything. Wouldn't you prefer it was only your basement that had to be redone, and not your entire house and every item in there, including everyone's last item of clothing?

tweety1 ↓

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 3:47 am

I do. But I clean my vents.

↑ tweety1

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 3:51 am

amother Freesia wrote:

Mine said so too. I recently cleaned my vent after 4 years. When I asked the guy how bad it is he said there was very little lint. He said I can easily go 2-3 years and I use the dryer alot. But it's still something I'm on top of. Even for my tenants. I pay for it.

Tzutzie

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 4:04 am

I will when I leave the house. dh cleans the vents (it's not too complicated, right next to the outdoor wall) and recently he oepend the machine in the back, and we cleaned/vacuumed the entire machine. It had lint inside too!
He did it because lately it hasn't been drying so well, it's almost 10 years old so he figured that's the issue. Bh it dries better now.
I clean the filter every time and vacuum the filter cavity too every few months.

With that said, I'd leave the dryer on when I leave the house. But not when sleeping.

The risks of a well taken care or dryer starting a fire is extremely low. I guess ill take the risk if noone is home. But I won't if we're all asleep.

amother

↑ Trillium

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 4:33 am

amother Starflower wrote:

I posted up thread that I run it while I’m away but I do not run it at night when I will be asleep and others are also asleep.

amother

Lightcoral

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 7:41 am

Can someone reccomend a reliable dryer vent cleaning company? I'm in boro park
My friend recently used someone who broker her dryer. Can't afford that to happen now

joy613

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 7:45 am

No. Never.
Not when I leave the house and not when we are sleeping.
If it's on and I need to leave, I shut it off.

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