Were not intending to be alarmist, but we have seen a disturbing increase in tumble dryer fires recently. Surprisingly, fires can even start when washing has been removed from the dryer and neatly folded.
The problem stems from the action of the heat generated by the tumble dryer on organic substances on textiles. It could be kitchen cloths, rags contaminated with oil or perhaps towels with sun cream or massage oils. If you are tumble drying these sort of materials, you should take extreme care.
The problem occurs when some organic substances reach a critical temperature and are unable to dissipate heat quickly. This results in a temperature increase in the material, which can then spontaneously combust. Particularly at risk are cloths contaminated with vegetable oil residue especially linseed oil.
But, theres no need to panic! Taking these sensible precautions will dramatically reduce the risk of fire:
- Thoroughly wash items to remove organic substances
- Dry in the normal way, but ensure that sufficient cool down time is selected so that washing removed from the dryer is cold.
- Never leave a working tumble dryer unattended
- Remove all washing from the dryer once the drying process is complete
- Fold and store susceptible items in small piles, separately stacked so that, should they self-ignite, they cannot set fire to other garments
- Finally, next time you purchase a tumble dryer, specify one with adjustable automatic cool-down and an automatic fire sensing and extinguishing system such as the S.A.F.E. system from ADC, supplied by Clean Machine.
