Tip for drying your MF towels
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10-24-2007, 06:28 PM
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Tip for drying your MF towels
Got this from a friend.
The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.) He took the filter over to the sink, ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material - I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like. WELL...the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh and that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free - that nice fragrance too, you know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box, well this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to catch fire & potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (& to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out & wash it with hot soapy water & an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long! How about that!?! Learn something new everyday! I certainly didn't know dryer sheets would do that. So, I thought I'd share!
Note: I went to my dryer & tested my screen by running water on it. The water ran through a little bit but mostly collected all the water in the mesh screen. I washed it with warm soapy water & a nylon brush & I had it done in 30 seconds. Then when I rinsed it the water ran right thru the screen! There wasn't any puddling at all! That repairman knew what he was talking about!
Dryer sheets do the same thing to your microfibers so don't use them.
Tic
The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.) He took the filter over to the sink, ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material - I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like. WELL...the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh and that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free - that nice fragrance too, you know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box, well this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to catch fire & potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (& to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out & wash it with hot soapy water & an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long! How about that!?! Learn something new everyday! I certainly didn't know dryer sheets would do that. So, I thought I'd share!
Note: I went to my dryer & tested my screen by running water on it. The water ran through a little bit but mostly collected all the water in the mesh screen. I washed it with warm soapy water & a nylon brush & I had it done in 30 seconds. Then when I rinsed it the water ran right thru the screen! There wasn't any puddling at all! That repairman knew what he was talking about!
Dryer sheets do the same thing to your microfibers so don't use them.
Tic
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10-25-2007, 01:38 PM
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#9
10-25-2007, 02:45 PM
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Originally Posted by Ticman
Got this from a friend.
The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.) He took the filter over to the sink, ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material - I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like. WELL...the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh and that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free - that nice fragrance too, you know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box, well this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to catch fire & potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (& to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out & wash it with hot soapy water & an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long! How about that!?! Learn something new everyday! I certainly didn't know dryer sheets would do that. So, I thought I'd share!
Note: I went to my dryer & tested my screen by running water on it. The water ran through a little bit but mostly collected all the water in the mesh screen. I washed it with warm soapy water & a nylon brush & I had it done in 30 seconds. Then when I rinsed it the water ran right thru the screen! There wasn't any puddling at all! That repairman knew what he was talking about!
The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.) He took the filter over to the sink, ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material - I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like. WELL...the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh and that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free - that nice fragrance too, you know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box, well this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to catch fire & potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (& to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out & wash it with hot soapy water & an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long! How about that!?! Learn something new everyday! I certainly didn't know dryer sheets would do that. So, I thought I'd share!
Note: I went to my dryer & tested my screen by running water on it. The water ran through a little bit but mostly collected all the water in the mesh screen. I washed it with warm soapy water & a nylon brush & I had it done in 30 seconds. Then when I rinsed it the water ran right thru the screen! There wasn't any puddling at all! That repairman knew what he was talking about!
hmmmm... did this by any chance come to you in an email forward???
The engineering skeptic in me highly doubts this point. The buildup on the mesh would not stop water vapor from going through it. The main reason that the water droplets did not go through is that the screen has small openings with high cohesion. Next time, try putting soapy water on the screen before you clean it and see if it goes through... the soap reduces the cohesion and that is most likely why the water went through after washing it.
But anyway... the bigger reason why I doubt this story (not that it was once said by a repairman, but that it truly increases the life of the heating element) is that the buildup on the mesh would strain the dryers blower, not the heating element. The buildup would effectively reduce the size of the openings and thereby put a higher load on the blower. If anything, this buildup would reduce the airflow, thereby making the heating element run less and increasing its life.
But thats just my .02 on the subject. Ironically, I tried cleaning my filter a couple months ago... but not to improve the heating element (I have a gas dryer anyway) I just noticed that there was some buildup and tried to clean it.
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10-25-2007, 03:01 PM
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#12
10-25-2007, 03:13 PM
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Originally Posted by mkosu04
hmmmm... did this by any chance come to you in an email forward???
The engineering skeptic in me highly doubts this point. The buildup on the mesh would not stop water vapor from going through it. The main reason that the water droplets did not go through is that the screen has small openings with high cohesion. Next time, try putting soapy water on the screen before you clean it and see if it goes through... the soap reduces the cohesion and that is most likely why the water went through after washing it.
But anyway... the bigger reason why I doubt this story (not that it was once said by a repairman, but that it truly increases the life of the heating element) is that the buildup on the mesh would strain the dryers blower, not the heating element. The buildup would effectively reduce the size of the openings and thereby put a higher load on the blower. If anything, this buildup would reduce the airflow, thereby making the heating element run less and increasing its life.
But thats just my .02 on the subject. Ironically, I tried cleaning my filter a couple months ago... but not to improve the heating element (I have a gas dryer anyway) I just noticed that there was some buildup and tried to clean it.
The engineering skeptic in me highly doubts this point. The buildup on the mesh would not stop water vapor from going through it. The main reason that the water droplets did not go through is that the screen has small openings with high cohesion. Next time, try putting soapy water on the screen before you clean it and see if it goes through... the soap reduces the cohesion and that is most likely why the water went through after washing it.
But anyway... the bigger reason why I doubt this story (not that it was once said by a repairman, but that it truly increases the life of the heating element) is that the buildup on the mesh would strain the dryers blower, not the heating element. The buildup would effectively reduce the size of the openings and thereby put a higher load on the blower. If anything, this buildup would reduce the airflow, thereby making the heating element run less and increasing its life.
But thats just my .02 on the subject. Ironically, I tried cleaning my filter a couple months ago... but not to improve the heating element (I have a gas dryer anyway) I just noticed that there was some buildup and tried to clean it.
Tic
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10-25-2007, 03:21 PM
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10-25-2007, 04:02 PM
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Originally Posted by Ticman
Since you're gettin all technical on me. You state that there is build up on the screen. Well with more air flow you get faster drying time. Therefore less time the heating element has to be on. And less load on the blower. Feel free to check with Snopes if you want.
Tic
Tic
... and I wasn't motivated enough to go out to Snopes... we're not supposed to use the internet for non work related things during working hours so I'd feel bad going to Snopes...
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10-25-2007, 04:18 PM
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Originally Posted by mkosu04
that could be a factor. Either way, a clean screen should reduce your energy use so I agree that it is a good idea.
... and I wasn't motivated enough to go out to Snopes... we're not supposed to use the internet for non work related things during working hours so I'd feel bad going to Snopes...
... and I wasn't motivated enough to go out to Snopes... we're not supposed to use the internet for non work related things during working hours so I'd feel bad going to Snopes...
