Do you leave the dryer running when you're not home?

Thanks for the tip. I used to leave it on, but I’ll stop doing that.

No… but I don’t have a dryer.

Mmmm. Fire burn. Same goes for a lot of electrical stuff, not to mention all the extra power drawn by stuff sitting on standby. Its good to get into the habit of turning things off at the wall.

KhiaKarma, was your household good about emptying the lint filter each and every single time? Or was there 1 or more people who were lazy with that?

I think of all the people who never think of changing their lint filters, and it makes the city seem like a tinderbox

@Kraigmo Don’t you have to empty it every time? If I don’t on mine, the heat doesn’t get through – wasted quarters.

@papayalily, yeah, it must be emptied every time. But some people were raised to think it only needs to be emptied occasionally, a common error in households.

It was a leaky gas valve. It did not start with the lent filter. We are pretty OCD about cleaning out the lent.

No. never. I don’t put on the dishwasher if I am going to be leaving either.

I never have, no, but I certainly won’t now. Thank goodness you caught it in time and no one was hurt. Glad to hear that much.

I am surprised people don’t know this.

You all do know…
Don’t put a crib by a window with blinds. Young children have gotten caught in the open/close strings and strangled to death.

If you let go of the gas pump while gassing your car, touch the side of your car before grabbing the gas handle again. If an electrical shock/spark happens it can ignite a gas fire.

The minute you see lightening or hear thunder get out of the pool or leave the soccer field. Lightening can suddenly be upon you.

Throw away all umbrellas that have lost their handle. The handle is plastic or wood so if your umbrella is hit with lightening, the electricity will not go to you. You should not be touching the metal part of the umbrella.

Never take medication with grapefruit juice.

Always check the back seat of your car before you get in.

I could go on and on.

this happened to a co worker yesterday! The controls caught fire, wasn’t a lint problem. My colleague got a call from his wife at home that smoke was coming out of the dryer, fortunately the fire department got there quickly.

@JLeslie that is a lot of good advice.

We are very lucky! I imagined the scene from the movie Backdraft, though, when I had to open the dryer door to throw in water from my dog’s water bowl…..

@zenvelo glad everyone was ok….

@TheOnlyNeffiei I swear I need to write a book. My girlfriend keeps telling me to do it. She thinks I am a worry wart. I don’t worry about these things, it is all automatic to me, like not touching a hot stove. I am always shocked people don’t know these types of things. Some of it is just common sense.

@JLeslie some is common sense, but I hadn’t even thought of some of those things. Like touching the car, or even losing an umbrella handle. They are common sense, but not necessarily something that I would think of. You really should write a book! :)

@TheOnlyNeffie You must not have a Jewish mother telling you everything that can go wrong, and nagging you all of the time. Lol.

There’s always that. No, no I don’t. lol.

I have an electric dryer. Whew!

But, I am weird about the dishwasher, had one flood once, so I never leave anything on when I am gone.

@Coloma Electric dryers are also a hazard.

I was visiting my aunt over the holidays, Christmas and New Years, and we had a debate on this very subject. She is the kind of person who will stand by with a bucket of water if you so much as light up a sparkler on the 4th of July or New Years and she was adamant about not running the dryer after you’ve gone to bed, let alone after you’ve left the house but… I eat raw oysters and raw clams, I eat dangerously runny sunny side up eggs, I let my dryer run after I have gone to bed and god forbid, after I have left the house. I live life on the edge; I live live dangerously; leaving my dryer unattended is child’s play compared to some of the things I do.
;-).

@lillycoyote Yeah, me too. If I spend all that time worrying, I’m not spending that time living so my house might as well burn down and kill me!

Again, it is not worrying. That bothers me when people say it.

I never let it run when I’m asleep, but I figure if the house burns to the ground while we’re gone, well… that’s what insurance is for. ;)

@augustlan Funny. I have run it when I am asleep, but never when I am gone.

@JLeslie If the house is going to burn down, I’d definitely rather it happen when we’re not in it.

@augustlan Maybe it won’t burn down if you are home. Even if you are asleep, assuming you have smoke detectors. But, I see your logic. I say thay about being burglarized, better when I am not home.

@JLeslie, talking on cell phone while pumping gas can create a spark, too.

Thanks for posting this. I know in our house we take it for granted everything is modern made and safe when we really shouldn’t be so secure. I’m glad no one in your home was hurt and nothing damaged.

My wife yells at me and makes me shut it off all the time.

And unplug the toaster, and shut the dishwasher, and all the stuff on @JLeslie‘s list.

Christ, I think I’m married to the Italian version of @JLeslie.

We have an electric dryer and let it run at night sometimes. We don’t usually run it when we are out because the clothes would get wrinkly – not for fear of fire.
I have 2 wood burning stoves, one of which going most of the time in the dead of winter. It runs even when we’re out. We do have several fire extinguishers nearby but they are useless if we are not home.
I don’t unplug appliances unless I need the outlet for something else.
And I eat Tiramisu. I live on the edge.
Despite my screen name, I don’t worry much.

@BarnacleBill Yes, I know. I’ll put that in the book too. Lol

@cprevite Well, I always say the Italians and the Jews are basically the same. How do you think NYC got to be how it is? Lol. Food, family, guilt….

Yes… shouldn’t, but do !

Appliances aside, I am with @worriedguy

I grew up with some seriously anal relatives and am the exact opposite, no OCD here, I’m a fly by the seat of my pants type. ;-)

It is not OCD to know a stove is hot, and to turn it off when you are done cooking. It is OCD to check 30 times to make sure it is off.

@JLeslie: You are so right. Italians and Jews: Same guilt, different food.

I always thought that it was just people being overcautious- but now I know like JLeslie stated….it’s not being overcautious it’s just being safe. If I had been sleeping, I would have eventually been awakened by the smoke alarm, but the damage would have still been much worse. I understand about insurance, but our pets would have perished on the fire! I really don’t get all that worked up about stuff… But lives are different.

Also, I think that I do (used to) take for granted that modern appliances shouldn’t have those kinds of problems….now I’m not saying that I’m gonna unplug the microwave when I leave, but I sure will heed the advise about being home when I run the dryer!

Also, be sure to register your product, because turns out there was a recall on the dryer…..more advise I know but could save your life.

@worriedguy I’m supposed to not eat Tiramisu? What’s that about?

@zenvelo It’s made with raw egg – and we know that’s courting certain death.

Bu-but…Rocky drank raw eggs.