Lint is ‘almost gasoline,’ so be sure to clean your dryer

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Almost 5,000 house fires each year are caused by buildup in dryer lint traps.

A Lincoln firefighter spoke with Channel 8 about the importance of cleaning out your lint trap — and provided a demonstration of how flammable lint is.

“Today’s clothes are made with more fibers, and that synthetic fabric is related to plastics, and plastics are hydrocarbons, and gasoline is also a hydrocarbon,” Jason Klipfel said. “So the lint from our clothes is almost gasoline that’s being stored inside of a device that gets hot, and that’s it’s job to get hot.”

In 2019, an apartment complex in Lincoln sustained major damage because of a dryer fire.

And it’s not just lint traps that need cleaned. Klipfel said you should have your dryer vent hose looked at, too.

The hose vents the heat outside your home, but lint can get caught in it, eventually building up and blocking the hose.