Common Home Fire Hazards - Cigarettes and Dryer Vents

Now you're probably wondering, how can a dryerhappened at my home while I was at work.
vent become a common home fire hazard? MostWe were taking care of a foster child who was
people can see how cigarettes could start a fire,nine years old and he saved our house. The rest
especially if someone fell asleep who was smokingof the family was playing a game in the back
in bed, but dryer vents, come on.bedroom, while the washer and dryer were
Let's start with cigarettes, a long time ago,running. I had recently done some modifications
cigarettes were more of the hazard than theyor, you might call it remodeling to my garage and
are today. Today most cigarettes are made tonever got around to fixing the dryer vent,
go out quickly if they aren't being smoked. Thisproperly. In other words it wasn't venting to the
has decreased deaths and fire damage fromoutside of the house like it should have been
smoking in your home, drastically.The problem with this, was that the dryer vent
However, cigarettes should always be put out inwas starting to accumulate lent behind the dryer.
an ashtray and never thrown away in a regularYou might find this hard to believe, but this dryer
trash can, filled with paper and other flammablelint caught on fire, while the hot air was coming
waste products. This is still a problem today anddirectly out of the back of the dryer and could
with a little common sense and a lot of education,have burnt the whole house down, except for the
this problem seems to be going away, as theyoung boy who smelled the smoke and notified
years go by. It's not a bad idea to put yoursomeone who put the fire out.
finished cigarette out in a bottle filled with water.I've since learned my lessons and that's why I'm
That's good advice, think about it if you're asharing my story with you, so that it doesn't
smoker.happen to anyone who reads this article. There is
Now, what you've all been waiting for, how can aa reason for your pipes and duct work in your
dryer vent, become a common home fire hazard.home, so make sure that they are hooked up
Well, it's story time. Here's something that actuallyproperly and cleaned regularly.