Do you have a dryer? Use it much? If you have a dryer with a timer, you will notice at the end of the cycle there is a blue bit, the ‘cool down’..it takes up about 5-10 minutes of time. My understanding was that this was so the clothes would not settle hot and crease. But as as Harry Chapin said, ‘But there were planes to catch and bills to pay’.. so lots of people are in too much of a hurry to allow the cool down to take place.
However,there is a far more important reason to allow your dryer to run the cool down part of the cycle. While the dryer is turning and the fan is blowing, it runs air over the heating element, but if you stop the dryer before cooling down, the heating element stays hot and has to cool down itself over time. Its not made to do this, so you will shorten the life of the element. In addition, there is also the chance bits of lint will build up around the element even if you are a religious zealot about keeping your lint filter clean (do it – see our previous blog). If there is lint next to the element, and the element glows hot with no cooling air, it may catch fire (you can insert here your own “horrified emoji” face). The picture shows how just a small amount of lint near the element has singed, and possibly even caught fire briefly.
So take the time to let the clothes dryer finish it’s cycle and your element will benefit, but you should also have crease-free clothes.. Win Win!
If you are having any issues with your dryer or you would like it serviced, we have a workshop here on site where you can bring it for us to inspect. Call us on 36301611.
