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Dear Heloise: I just read a letter from a Massachusetts reader that contained some unfortunate phrasing. It stated that a vent with a lint clog caused the fire — not leaving the house with the dryer running.
A fire requires three key factors: heat, oxygen and fuel. While the lint clog may have well been what caught fire, this happened because the dryer was left running, which caused the lint to heat up to its combustion point. After 27 years as a firefighter and another 11 years with our state fire marshal’s office, I’ve seen dryer fires that caused significant property damage. In one case, two dogs (the owner’s pets) were killed because the fire happened when no one was home to notice the problem during its earliest stages.
Don’t leave dryers, ovens, stove burners or candles on unattended. While someone may get away with leaving their residence with a dryer running, a turkey in the oven, a pot of soup simmering, candles burning, or any other potentially unsafe conditions present, all it takes is the one time that it doesn’t end well for someone to regret it for a long time.
Fires that are prevented from happening and get caught early are much easier on everyone. And yes, you should clean your dryer’s lint trap every time you use the dryer and have the vent cleaned annually as well. — Fred S., Retired Battalion Chief
Fred, both my mother and I have been preaching this fire prevention story for years. Thank you for writing in with this reminder. — Heloise
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Heloise@Heloise.com
A HANDY PAIR OF PLIERS
Dear Heloise: Let me add one more idea to the suggestions about unscrewing the lid on a nail polish bottle. I keep a pair of pliers in the drawer where I store my nail polish. With a tiny bit of elbow grease, the pliers open the bottle very easily. There’s no need to microwave hot water, add Vaseline, or do anything else.
I read your column in the online edition of the Oregonian. — Anne L., in Portland, Oregon
Anne, I keep a pair of pliersin my bathroom drawer, too. There have been so many occasions when I needed to open a tube, a thin bottle, or a number of things, and my fingers couldn’t get a good grip on the container. The pliers worked much better than my hands. — Heloise
DISHWASHER FILTERS
Dear Heloise: I read the letter about a bad odor coming from the dishwasher, and I wondered if this person had ever removed the filter and cleaned it as well as the area it sits in. My dishwasher is 17 years old and wasn’t washing well this past year. Upon reading the user manual, I saw that I was supposed to clean this filter yearly!
With my dishwasher, the filter removal was very easy, and after I claned it, it was working well once again. I believe that the buildup could also cause a very bad odor. I hope this is helpful for this person and many others. — Helen, in Fremont, Nebraska
Helen, there are cleaning tablets that are sold in most grocery stores. They do an excellent job of cleaning “gunk” out of your dishwasher. You might be surprised at the food, mold and other things that collect over time in your dishwasher’s inner workings. — Heloise