Is a tumble dryer safe?

MATH

I opened up my old TD the other year to change the drive belt and was shocked to see how much lint was bunged up inside the machine around the fan, motor and heating element, a deffo fire risk IMO. Even though my TD is in the garage I do not use a timer for econ7, fortunately we are up early at Chez MATH and I can switch it on when I get up, keep an eye on it and still make use of cheap leccy.

RedOnRed

AnnieP wrote:

As long as you have the correct fuse in and smoke alarms I can't see the problem. I know you will be reading this and thinking I'm nuts, but really some times you have to just go with it.

I think my TD instruction manual advises not to leave the appliance unattended and are you saying that even with the correct fuse fitted there is no fire risk? I don't think so.

AnnieP_3

No i am not saying there is no fire risk, but alot of people have the wrong fuses in things and that's what causes a lot of fires. But if you have a smoke alarm fitted above the appliance you have a good chance, after all do you unplug your tv video and sky boxes every night, or your freezer? These can just as easily catch fire.

RedOnRed

AnnieP wrote:

after all do you unplug your tv video and sky boxes every night, or your freezer? These can just as easily catch fire.

No they can't just as easily catch fire. They're not designed specifically to generate heat like a tumble drier or iron. Neither of which i'd leave unattended.

BigRay

not wanting to alarm or contradict anyone.... having been a wholetime firefighter for the past 20 years i have attended countless fires started by numerous things. it is because of what i see that i unplug as many items as possible that i can when they are not in use. this includes the skybox,tv,xbox,computer, mobile phone chargers and so on. i never use the tumble dryer on a timer and certainly never leave it un-attended when in use. i leave nothing on stand by either. as stated by kat21 above a phone call to your fire service will provide a visit by a fire crew to advise you further, the visit is called a home fire safety check and is free, which includes any smoke detectors they think you require. the detectors we fit are fairly small now and have a tamper proof battery that you can't remove and lasts 10 years.

SheepLady_2

I bought our first washer/drier in April, but we have only just tried to use the drier... it didnt work... that is to say it didnt heat up. At first we thought we werent using it properly! However, the engineer was called - and when he took the top off, he found the wiring had not been connected to the fan. Bit iffy on a new machine, isnt it!!! (Oh, and we had him out early in the summer as it wasnt spinning... the belt had broken.) All in all, not too good if it had been left alone - even though ours wasnt heating up! Good idea about having a smoke alarm nearby - we already have one of those 'Fire Angels' that you plug into your light socket - we have just bought our 2nd after the last one gave up after 10 years. They are around £12.50 off ebay or you can pay up to the RRP £20...!