The lint filter in your dryer: empty it before and after every load

The fluff that collects in a tumble dryer’s filter is more than dust. The US National Fire Protection Association names failure to clean dryers and washers as the leading cause of fires involving them at home. Cleaning takes about a minute.

The filter, before and after every load

• Pull out the lint filter and strip it before you start a cycle and again when it finishes. That is the instruction from both the US Fire Administration and Singapore’s Consumer Product Safety Office.
• Never run the dryer with the filter out, not even for a short cycle.
• Clear the lint that builds up around the drum, and behind the machine where you cannot see it.

The duct and the outside flap

On dryers that blow hot air out through a duct:

• Check that the duct behind the machine is not kinked, crushed or blocked.
• Check that the flap on the outside vent opens when the dryer is running.
• Clean the lint out of the duct at least once a year, and sooner if clothes start taking longer than usual to dry. That symptom alone is reason enough to open it up.

What stays out of the dryer

• Clothes or cloths that have touched cooking oil, petrol, paint thinner or alcohol.
• Mop heads: the dryer’s heat can ignite the cleaning residue in them.
• A bigger load than the machine is built for.

Around the machine

• Keep boxes, clothing and anything else that burns away from it.
• Don’t leave it running when you go out or go to bed.
• Have it installed and serviced by a professional, on the right plug and outlet.

Photo: A tumble dryer lint filter beside the layer of lint peeled from it. Photo by Frank C. Müller, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Source: US Fire Administration, Clothes dryer fire safety · NFPA, Clothes dryer and washing machine safety · Massachusetts Department of Fire Services, Dryer fire safety · Singapore Consumer Product Safety Office, Safety tips on washing machines and tumble dryers (updated 21 May 2026).