Any keeper of the home understands that washing and drying clothes is no picnic. It's hard work that must be done every single week, sometimes even daily if you have a large family. A washing machine and dryer are used so often, they tend to be taken for granted. But for safety reasons and to save dollars on power and water, both appliances should be used with care and safety in mind.

Below are some helpful tips for using the clothes dryer in a safe and economical way.

Reduce Drying Time

A way to save money and prolong the life of your clothes dryer is to reduce drying time. There are several ways to do this. One way is to place smaller loads in the dryer each time. The dryer will dry them evenly in less time and also leave fewer wrinkles. Drying too many clothes at once will cause the dryer to dry them unevenly, and the clothes will still have many wrinkles. You'll have to keep turning the dryer back on to finish the job. The dryer can also overheat if overloaded.

Another way is to keep the dryer lint-free. Clean the lint-filter after every load to keep the dryer running at its best. A third way to reduce drying time is to hang clothes outdoors to dry when possible. When the weather is nice and warm, the clothes will dry quickly. This will save on your power bill and help prolong the dryer's life.

Clean the Clothes Dryer Often

Besides wiping lint from the lint-catcher after every load, be sure to clean out the extra lint within the vent that the filter did not catch. You should do this at least once a month to prevent build-up. Use a vacuum hose or lint brush to remove excess lint. Also, have a qualified service technician to come clean your dryer thoroughly about once every two to three years. The technician will take the dryer apart and give it a thorough cleaning.

Clothes Dryer Safety

For venting, install all-metal ducting instead of plastic or vinyl exhaust hoses. Plastic and vinyl are flammable. Also, avoid drying clothes on which flammable substances have been spilled such as gasoline, kerosene, cooking oil, alcohol, and solvents. These can give off certain explosive vapors that could cause a fire when exposed to excessive heat in the dryer. Clothing items with these types of spills should be washed thoroughly several times and hung to dry to be sure all the flammable substance is gone. Other items to avoid drying in a clothes dryer are synthetic fabrics, rubber, plastic, and foam. These retain heat and can cause the dryer to overheat or catch fire.

If installing a gas or electric dryer in a new home, select a spot on an outside wall so your dryer will be able to ventilate properly. The steam must have a safe outlet. Inside walls make it difficult when seeking places to insert a ventilation hole to the outdoors.

Never leave home or fall asleep with the dryer running. Also, keep a fire extinguisher in the same room as the dryer or nearby if possible in case a fire does occur.

Alternatives to the Standard Electric Dryer

If you practically live traveling the open road or if you live in a small apartment where there's no room for a standard electric dryer, there are alternatives. One unique product that many find useful is the spin dryer. A spin dryer is a compact dryer that can easily be transported when traveling. It plugs into a 110V outlet. It is very gentle on clothing and has a 12.2 lb capacity for wet laundry and a 5.5 lb capacity for dry laundry.

There are also portable washing machines to go easier on your septic tank, and there are products to improve your septic system or decrease septic system maintenance.

Keep these clothes dryer tips in mind while doing your everyday tasks. You'll see an improvement on your electric bill and with how well your dryer functions.

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A previous article looked at this in general terms with regard to a start up cleaning company. This article will concentrate on a strategy for an established company to follow if it wants to be even more successful and continue expanding into the future.

The nature of cleaning is changing and the criteria companies use to choose their cleaners is also changing. Little by little companies are realising that it is more economical and administratively easier to find a cleaning company that can meet all their cleaning requirements.

Very few cleaning companies are able to do this or have wanted to do so in the past. They have chosen to concentrate on a particular specialism and develop that. So we have firms that are office cleaners, carpet cleaners, window cleaners, stone cleaners, kitchen cleaners, and ventilation duct cleaners to name but a few. Each of these builds up their own particular client base and their only way of growing is to expand their area of coverage. Many cleaning companies are reluctant to do this and consequently their potential for growth is limited. A large proportion of these companies are run by a single person who is quite happy to restrict themselves to a physically manageable area and manage a finite number of clients. However if you own and operate a company or want to start a cleaning company that has wider visions then you have an opportunity to take advantage of the changing market place.

The medium and larger sized companies and corporations are now beginning to look for cleaning companies that can provide them with all the cleaning services they require. From the simple and straightforward office cleaning on a daily basis to the six monthly or yearly cleaning of their ventilation ducts. If the cleaning company wishes to take advantage of this and gain corporate clients then it must expand its areas of expertise. If the financial burden of doing this is too great for the company to bear then the alternative is to find other firms who specialise in these various areas and work together either as partnerships or sub-contract out these fields of specialist cleaning. Sub-contracting has its pitfalls and to a large extent should be avoided if possible but it is a way into this new market place until you can develop your own expertise.

Companies working together in some form of partnership who share the same goals is a better solution but ultimately it is better if your own company can develop within these various areas and then you have complete control without the concern and constant anxiety of being ‘let down’. Become an expert in carpet cleaning, window cleaning, deep cleaning of commercial kitchens and ventilation duct cleaning. That way you can offer your prospective clients the complete cleaning package, increase your turnover and continue to grow.

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Few people realize the importance of dryer safety. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, there are an estimated annual 15,500 fires, 10 deaths and 10 injuries caused by dryer fire. Several hundred people a year are also subjected to carbon monoxide poisoning from improper dryer safety measures. The financial costs come to nearly $100,000,000 per year. In some cases faulty appliances are to blame, but many fires can be prevented with proper dryer safety precautions.

Why Dryer Fires Occur
Lint accumulation and reduced airflow feed on each other to provide conditions ripe for a fire. Lint is a highly combustible material, which, interestingly enough, is one of the ingredients in a recipe for home-made fire starters. A number of dryer vent problems contribute to this.

A growing problem
Traditionally, most clothes dryers were in the basement. However, nowadays many newer homes tend to have dryers located away from an outside wall in bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens and hall closets. These new locations mean dryers tend to be vented longer distances and vents are generally installed with sharp turns and bends to accommodate the structure of the home. As a result, dryer vents are harder to reach, and also create more places for lint to gather. The ideal solution is to have short, straight, dryer duct venting. However, a dryer vent booster, while not the ideal approach, can improve your dryer venting in cases where your venting is longer and/or has more bends than it should. In addition to creating a fire hazard, if the venting is too long and/or has two many bends, it will cause your dryer to take much longer than necessary to dry loads.

Inside the Dryer
Lint is the biggest culprit here. As you know from cleaning out your lint filter, dryers produce very large quantities of lint. Most people assume their lint traps catch all the lint, and that all they need to do is clean them out after each load. However, a significant amount of this lint is not caught by the lint trap and builds up inside the dryer-even on the heating element! If you are skeptical, try this experiment: pull out the lint trap and look underneath it- you may find large mounds of lint staring at you. Lint can build up on the heating element and in other places inside the dryer, causing it to overheat and possibly catch fire. As a rule, a fire starts from a spark in the machine. However, improper clothes dryer venting practices outside the dryer can play a key role in this process.


Outside the Dryer
There are many improper dryer vent practices which restrict airflow and lead to lint buildup, the two main preventable causes of dryer fires.
Some of the most common and important dryer vent mistakes are:
1. Dryer vents are too long and/or have too many bends, but don't use a dryer duct booster, resulting in lint buildup. When it comes to dryer vents, shorter and straighter is better.
2. Use of flammable, flimsy plastic or foil duct extenders. Only metal vents should be used, which is what most manufacturers specify. Metal vents also resist crushing better than plastic and foil, which allows the air and lint to be carried out of the system. Reduced airflow from build-up or crushing can cause overheating and wear out the clothes and appliance faster. In fact, many state and local municipalities have placed requirements on new and remodeling projects to include all metal dryer venting.
3. Inadequate clearance space between dryer and wall. Many people create problems by putting their dryer right against the wall, crushing the venting material in the process. The cumulative effect of reduced airflow and the resulting lint build-up prevent the dryer from drying at the normal rate. This causes the high temperature limit safety switch to cycle on and off to control the heater. Most high temperature limit safety switches were not designed to continuously cycle on and off, so they fail over a period of time.
4. Failure to clean the dryer duct.


Your Dryer May be Failing If:
The clothes are taking an inordinately long period of time to dry, come out hotter than usual or if the vent hood flapper doesn't open. Maintenance is needed in these cases.

Only You Can Prevent Clothes Dryer Fires
Proper Installation & Choice of Building Materials
1. Make sure the dryer duct is made of solid metallic material. Both vinyl and foil are combustible and spiral-wound surfaces tend to catch lint more readily.
2. The dryer duct should vent to the exterior and in no case should it vent to the attic or crawlspace. Avoid the use of inside heat recovery diverter valves or termination boxes, which do not comply with current standards.
3. Avoid kinking or crushing the dryer duct to make up for installation in tight quarters -this further restricts airflow. If you really want to save the extra space, the Dryerbox is a new invention that allows the dryer to be safely installed against the wall.
4. Minimize the length of the exhaust duct (maximum recommended lengths depend on a number of factors, such as number of bends, and vary by model-check with your manufacturer for their specifications). If this is not possible, you can install a dryer duct booster.
5. If at all possible, use 4-inch diameter vent pipe and exterior exhaust hoods that have openings of sixteen square inches or more, which offer the least resistance to air flow.
6. Don't use screws to put your vent pipe together - the screw shafts inside the piping collect lint and cause additional friction.

Keep the Dryer Duct in Good Condition
Disconnect, clean and inspect the dryer duct run on a regular basis, or hire a professional company to clean the dryer duct. This will reduce the fire hazard, increase the dryer's efficiency and increase its lifespan. In addition, you are less likely to experience water damage.

Keep Your Dryer as Lint-Free as Possible
By keeping your dryer clean, not only will you significantly reduce the fire hazard, you will also save money as your dryer will run more efficiently and last longer.
To keep your dryer clean:
1. Use a lint brush or vacuum attachment to remove accumulated lint from under the lint trap and other accessible places on a periodic basis.
2. Every 1-3 years, depending upon usage, have the dryer taken apart and thoroughly cleaned out by a qualified service technician.
3. Clean the lint trap after each load.

Alternative Solutions
1. Use a condensing dryer. Unlike conventional clothes dryers, condensing dryers do require external clothes dryer venting. This significantly reduces the risk of a dryer fire.
2. Use a spin dryer, which uses an extremely fast spin speed to extract water from the clothes. They extract significantly more water from the clothes than a washing machine spin cycle does. Spin dryers can be used alone or in conjunction with a conventional clothes dryer.

Before You Go....
1. Never let your clothes dryer run while you are out of the house or even worse, when you are asleep.
2. Thoroughly read manufacturers' instructions regarding the safe use of their dryers.
3. If all else fails, you can always use an old-fashioned clothesline. There have never been any reported clothesline fires!

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