Janet wrote:
>
> Ditto. All my drying loads are pure cotton and I clean the filter
> every time. Someone drying fabrics like polyester might get a lot less
> lint.

IMO, you should *always* clean out the lint trap before drying clothes. Even
if it's not so bad, you will get better air-flow (and drying action) with a
clean one. I use a neighborhood laundry mat and I always scrape a thick
layer of lint off the filter before drying. Evidently, no one else here
thinks to do this.

G.

In article >, says...
>
> Janet wrote:
> >
> > Ditto. All my drying loads are pure cotton and I clean the filter
> > every time. Someone drying fabrics like polyester might get a lot less
> > lint.
>
> IMO, you should *always* clean out the lint trap before drying clothes.

Years ago we moved house, smaller laundry room needed a dryer that
would stack on top of the washer. My old one didn't so I gave it away to
a friend. It was in perfect condition and still had the manufacturers
sticker on the door saying "clear the filter every time".
She didn't bother, and about a month later the accumulated fluff
overheated the machine and caught fire :-(

Janet UK

"Gary" wrote in message ...

Janet wrote:
>
> Ditto. All my drying loads are pure cotton and I clean the filter
> every time. Someone drying fabrics like polyester might get a lot less
> lint.

IMO, you should *always* clean out the lint trap before drying clothes. Even
if it's not so bad, you will get better air-flow (and drying action) with a
clean one. I use a neighborhood laundry mat and I always scrape a thick
layer of lint off the filter before drying. Evidently, no one else here
thinks to do this.

G.

~~~~~~~~~
The reason I only clean mine every second or third time is that I never see
any lint if I do it every time. Of course, I'm not using a neighborhood
laundry mat, so the only lint is from my own items. There are certain
things (like blankets) where I would check the filter as soon as I have used
the dryer.

I know what you mean about a thick layer of lint on neighborhood machines.
Several of us rented a condo for a week for vacation a couple of years ago.
My friend complained that the dryer wasn't getting any of her clothing dry.
I pulled out the filter, and it was completely covered with thick lint.
Then I reached down into the tube behind the filter, and it was completely
clogged. I kept pulling lint out as far as I could reach. There was even a
printed reminder to clean the filter, but it was obvious that it had not
been cleaned for a very long time. I am very aware of how important it is
to keep the filter clean, both for improved efficiency and also because it
can be a fire hazard. I have never seen the slightest bit of lint *behind
or below* the filter (in the outlet tube) in my own machine, as I explained
in another message, but this one was so clogged that it would have taken
special tools to reach down to get all of it. I hope I did enough good so
the machine could blow the rest of it outside.

MaryL

On Sat, 02 Feb 2013 09:20:24 -0500, Gary > wrote:

>Janet wrote:
>>
>> Ditto. All my drying loads are pure cotton and I clean the filter
>> every time. Someone drying fabrics like polyester might get a lot less
>> lint.
>
>IMO, you should *always* clean out the lint trap before drying clothes. Even
>if it's not so bad, you will get better air-flow (and drying action) with a
>clean one. I use a neighborhood laundry mat and I always scrape a thick
>layer of lint off the filter before drying. Evidently, no one else here
>thinks to do this.

Besides all that the dryer trap only gets like 10% of the lint
generated, all the rest is sent through the exhaust to the outdoors,
only thing a goodly amount of that lint gets deposited in the dryer
exhaust system, where eventually it can ignite and burn your house
down, happens a lot more often than folks think... never leave your
house or go to sleep with your dryer running. I clean my dryer's lint
exhaust often, I have an inexpensive kit of flexible brushes and
extensions for that purpose... takes ten minutes every two months. I
only use my dryer like twice a week, but I'm always amazed at how much
lint accumulates in the exhaust pipe. My kit comes with a gadget that
allows me to collect that lint but I just let it blow out into my yard
where the birds collect it for lining their nests. I even save the
lint from the lint trap in a covered coffee can until spring when I
put it out for the birds... in the spring is when I switch from suet
to lint in those little cages.
I have this one, it costs about double at Lowe's:
http://www.amazon.com/Gardus-RLE202-...yer+lint+brush

"Nancy Young" > wrote in message
...
>
> Not too long ago, I saw some recommendation (to save energy? I forget)
> to clean out the dryer filter at least once a week or so. I was
> astonished, I thought everyone would clean out the filter for every
> load.
>
> nancy

Mine says to do it with each load and they frequently put reminders on the
reader board at the fire station to do the same.

I remember a fireman visiting our home ec class in Jr. High. Said one day
an elderly lady complained after a dryer fire that she no longer had a fuzzy
wuzzy. What she meant by that was the lint trap. She had no idea what it
was and thought it was supposed to be fuzzy like that.