Smoke detectors

Abrowneyegirl · ‎03-15-2010

Does your laundry room have a smoke/carbon monoxide detector?

Our house has hard-wired smoke and CM detectors throughout the house and garage but I noticed the other day nothing in the laundry room.

After a coworker had a tragic house fire related to a dryer fire I am overly cautious regarding cleaning the lint trap and not running the dryer unattended. I also learned that a clogged dry vent will cause CM to back up into the house. I had never known that.

I ordered a detector.

Do you have a detector in your laundry room?

Group 5 minus 1 · ‎03-11-2010

Yes. Building code requirment.

'cuz every girl's crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man

Abrowneyegirl · ‎03-15-2010

@Group 5 minus 1 wrote:
Yes. Building code requirment.

It should be. What is required smoke or CM or both?

Bri369 · ‎11-03-2018

Yes, I do have one in the laundry room.

I did have a dryer fire. I turned on the dryer and was getting ready to leave the house. By the time I got my keys and purse, the smoke alarm was buzzing and I smelled smoke. I quickly turned off the dryer. I called the fire department. When they got there, they showed me the lint that caught on fire.

I shudder to think what would have happened if I left that dryer unattended. My house would have burned down.

Anyway, I never run the dryer unattended now. I make my husband take the front panel off and check to see if lint is backing up.

gidgetgh · ‎03-09-2010

We don't have one in the laundry room. To be honest, I don't think we have an outlet on the wall.

However, our laundry room is on the second floor, next to the master bedroom. We DO have a carbon monoxide detector plugged in the hallway wall so it's like 4 feet from the laundry room. We also have 2 smoke detectors upstairs as well as a carbon monoxide and multiple smoke detectors downstairs.

Why is it, when I have a 50/50 guess at something, I'm always 100% wrong?

Sweetbay magnolia · ‎04-14-2013

I have an electric dryer and I keep the vent and filters clean, so no, but the smoke alarm is just feet from the laundry room in a hallway. Thankfully the dryer vent goes directly through the wall to the outside, so it's pretty easy to check.

I do not make it a practice of running the dryer when I am gone.

In another house, I had co2 poisoning from a faulty furnace repair. Obviously I lived to tell the tale but it is horrible and I certainly understand how quickly you would perish, especially if sleeping. Those detectors do save lives (we had none at the time, and they were not yet required by code).

Cogito ergo sum

LilLadyNJ · ‎06-27-2017

I have two Carbon Monoxide detectors on the upper floor near bedrooms and two on the main floor; one in the kitchen and one in the living area.

I have my dryer vents professionally cleaned every two years for lint. I also have one of those long lint brushes for the lint trap that I use about once/month.

Abrowneyegirl · ‎03-15-2010

@Bri369

That gives me the chills, you certainly had an angel on your shoulder that day!

We have our dryer vents cleaned annually after my co-worker's fire and I am always amazed at what comes out. Esp. considering I clean the trap after each load and once during big loads. I also have the fuller brushes for dryer vents (excellent).

Once after I bought all new towels we had a burning smell as the new towel lint started to clog the tubing and burn. Electric dryer.

In our area (as I am sure many) there is no plastic accordion tubes/pipe allowed for dryer venting. Smooth metal only.