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Thousands of house fires are started each year by clothes dryers clogged with lint.
But there are steps you can take to prevent dryer fires in your home.
Lots of products are on the market claiming to help reduce the risk of dryer fires. Consumer Reports just tested the Lint Lizard, an infomercial product, to see if it can help.
To prevent tragedies in your home, it’s essential to clean the lint from your dryer’s ducts and lint trap.
The Lint Lizard attaches to your vacuum cleaner. You thread the tube through the opening of a dryer’s lint trap.
Bernie Deitrick checked to see how much lint it could remove from the dryer.
"The Lint Lizard worked really well,” he said. “It removed more lint than any other technique that we tried."
But one drawback - the Lint Lizard may not fit easily into very narrow dryer openings, and its sharp tip could damage flexible foil or plastic ductwork.
However, Consumer Reports doesn't recommend these kinds of ducts anyway.
"It can sag like this, collect lint, and cause problems with venting your dryer."
Consumer Reports says metal ducts are far better - either flexible or solid. You want to clean those at least once a year. And clean your lint trap every time you use the dryer. Taking these precautions can help prevent a tragedy.
The Lint Lizard costs $10.99 plus shipping and handling at the company’s website – lintlizard.com.
You can get it for less at major retailers, including Walmart, Target and Amazon.com.