The sequence of events
Illustrative example. Not a real job or customer.
A dryer in a second-floor laundry closet has a long vent run through the floor framing to an exterior wall. The vent has not been cleaned in years. During a load of towels, lint in the vent ignites. The smoke alarm in the hallway sounds, the family gets out and calls 911, and firefighters cut into the laundry closet wall and ceiling below to reach fire in the vent run.
- The fire is confined to the dryer, the vent run and the closet framing, but water and the opened ceiling affect the kitchen below.
- The owners photograph the upstairs hall, bedrooms, the laundry closet and the kitchen ceiling before anything is moved.
- The restorer removes wet kitchen ceiling drywall and insulation, sets drying equipment and seals the laundry closet with plastic.
- Smoke odor in the upstairs bedrooms leads to cleaning of all upstairs walls, closets and the HVAC returns on that level.
- The rebuild replaces the vent with smooth rigid metal duct on a shorter route where possible, under the building department's review.
The kitchen ceiling and the laundry closet are rebuilt, the upstairs is cleaned and repainted, and the new dryer vent is shorter and easier to clean.
What made the difference
The most important choice was not limiting the scope to the closet. Smoke from a lint fire is dark and travels down the hall into bedrooms and closets. Without cleaning those rooms and the return air path, the house would have smelled of burnt lint every time the heat came on.
The second choice was fixing the vent route instead of just replacing what burned. Long vent runs with several elbows collect lint faster and are harder to inspect. A building inspector or appliance installer can explain what length and material your dryer's instructions allow.
Finally, opening the kitchen ceiling to dry it, rather than painting over a stain, prevented hidden moisture from lingering in the floor framing above.
Dryer fire prevention for upstairs laundry
- Clean the lint screen every load
- Have the full vent run cleaned regularly, especially if it is long
- Check that the exterior hood flap opens freely when the dryer runs
- Replace plastic or foil accordion vent hose behind the dryer with metal duct
- Don't run the dryer when no one is home or while sleeping
- Consider a drain pan and leak sensor under the washer
General information for Centennial, not a quote or professional advice. In an emergency, call 911.