Cloth dryers have become one of the important machines in every household. Many people speculate that electric dryers produce carbon monoxide. So if you ever wonder, ‘do electric dryers produce carbon monoxide? This is where you get the correct answer.
If you ever thought that electric dryers create carbon monoxide, you have guessed it wrong. They typically don’t produce carbon monoxide, even though the gas dryers do. Carbon monoxide produces as a result of combustion. Only gas dryers use combustion to operate, not electric dryers.
However, there are a few circumstances that electric dryers may produce carbon monoxide. So proper ventilation is required, regardless of the type of dryer you have. There are more to be discussed, please keep reading.
Is Electric Dryer Exhaust Harmful?
Even though electric dryers do not produce carbon monoxide, the dryer exhaust may be harmful. The electric dryer exhaust may consist of water particles, lint, and other particles. If there is too much moisture, it will create mold, bacteria, and other condensation problems. If you don’t use proper ventilation, mildew and bacteria, can grow in your house and affect your health.
You will have to face respiratory problems like nose and throat irritation, shortness of breath, and even Asthma symptoms. Even a tiny leakage can cause severe consequences. Exposure to mold for extended periods will cause skin issues, cancers, and even nerve damage.
It would help if you ensured that you adequately vent the electric dryer. If you still need to check it, it will better to hire a professional. In addition, you can open a window whenever using the dryer.
Many houses use electric dryers even in sunny climates where they can use methods to dry clothes naturally. Every time you use an electric dryer to dry clothes, it will produce a certain amount of carbon dioxide.
It has been calculated that an electric dryer releases an average amount about 1.8kg of carbon dioxide into the environment. This procedure also has a significant impact on air pollution. If all the people use drying clothes by natural methods, it will save a huge amount of carbon dioxide released to the environment.
Do Electric Dryers Need Ventilation?
Knowing how the electric dryer works inside out will help you understand the importance of a ventilation system. Typically, this is how it happens. The machine tumbles your clothes, takes the outside air, and heats inside. This process makes the clothes dry as the water evaporates from the clothes. Once they are disappeared, there should be a place where the excess water should go. This is where the ventilation system comes to play.
If the electric dryer has no proper ventilation, all the moisture that the clothes release in the drying process, will remain inside. It will help create mold and mildew in your house and face dangerous consequences.
All the electric dryers contain a lint trap. However, this trap would not trap all the lint, some of the lint escapes from the vent. In this scenario, if the electric dryer doesn’t have proper ventilation, the lint will spread behind the dryer or inside the house.
Do Electric Dryers Produce Carbon Monoxide?
Whether the dryers produce carbon monoxide depends on what kind of machine you have at home. A gas dryer at home will produce carbon monoxide, but it is the other way around if you have an electric dryer. Many speculate that electric dryers also produce carbon monoxide, but that is not always the truth.
Electric dryers do not release carbon monoxide into the environment. The common misconception in society is that since electric dryers use electricity as the energy source, it produces carbon monoxide because of that. Even though the dryers use electricity, the process of drying the clothes by heating coils inside to heat the air will not cause in producing carbon monoxide.
Fuel-burning dryers create carbon monoxide because of their combustion process. This is why gas dryers produce carbon monoxide, unlike electric dryers. Even if we know that electric dryers do not produce carbon monoxide, there is one way that even electric dryers will produce carbon monoxide.
As we already know, the drying process releases lint, and most clothes are manufactured with carbon-based substances. So this makes the lint released in the process also carbon-based. This lint will build up in the vent and can be highly combustible when the heated air passes through the lint. This will help emit carbon monoxide into the air through the ventilation system.
So properly ventilating the electric dryer is super essential to stop carbon monoxide, mold, or mildew from entering your house and affecting your health.
How Do I Know If my Dryer is Leaking Carbon Monoxide?
Carbon monoxide is a highly toxic, odorless gas, making it a silent killer. Since it is odourless, makes it hard to tell if there is a leak somewhere. So you must know how to detect the signs if there is a carbon monoxide leak. Here are some tips and indications to recognize if there is a carbon monoxide leakage.
You will get a smell of exhaust gases. Now you may be curious what the scent of exhaust gases is. It will smell like something is burning. If the burning smell comes constantly, you must check for any leakages in your dryer.
The other indicator you can notice if there are any leakages is when you see any dark color soot build up around the vent. This is a visible indicator for you to identify if there are carbon monoxide leaks in your dryer. There might be visible brownish-yellow stains around the vent as well.
If you couldn’t find any leakages with outside factors, you will finally be able to detect any leakages if you experience flu-like symptoms. This is considered the worst-case scenario. You will have dizziness, shortness of breath, or chest pains. In this scenario, it is wise to head to your family doctor and take treatments as soon as possible.
FAQ
What Are the Risks of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning?
The most common reason for Carbon monoxide poisoning is unvented space heating electrical appliances such as hair dryers, water heaters, and boilers.
When breathing, fumes that contain Carbon monoxide (CO) cause Carbon monoxide poisoning, it is invincible to the naked eye, and you cannot smell or taste it. Red blood cells carry Carbon monoxide faster than Oxygen in your body. Breathing high levels of air containing CO may result in organ failure, especially in your heart and brain.
A low level of long-term Carbon monoxide may affect your thinking and concentration, but consuming a high level of Carbon monoxide can cause loss of consciousness and seizures, which may result in death.
Common symptoms in the early stage of Carbon monoxide poisoning are headache, weakness in physical health, dizziness, chest pain, and vomiting.
Adults, infants, and people living in high altitudes have more Carbon monoxide poisoning than others.
How Can You Protect Yourself from Carbon Monoxide Poisoning?
Cloth dryers, hair dryers, boilers, and Furnaces are the main reason for increasing Carbon monoxide in the house. To protect yourself from carbon monoxide poisoning, make sure that the flues and chimneys. Electrical appliances are adequately installed and maintained according to the manufacturer’s user guide.
Also, you must install Carbon monoxide alarms in your home, especially in your sleeping areas. If the alarm goes on, call your emergency services and leave the room to get fresh air immediately. You have to maintain Carbon monoxide alarms regularly. When you are sleeping, make sure your alarms are working correctly. At least once a year, have a professional qualified to inspect your electrical appliances.
As good news, Carbon monoxide poisoning is reversible, but it may take lots of time to recover your body. 50% – 75% recover within one year. It takes a full day for carbon monoxide to leave your body through lungs.
Are There Any Other Safety Concerns with Electric Dryers?
Do not use cloth dryers without a lint filter. Excessive use of electric dryers may overload and damage the other electrical appliances in your home. Also, do not dry anything containing rubber, plastic, and polythene. It may release poisonous gases. Failure to clean dryers may cause home electrical dryer fires.
Ensure Electrical dryers are installed by a professional and connect the correct electrical plugs for your dyers. Before using, read the manufactures manual carefully for added safety. When the dryer is on, open the venting systems behind your dryer. If you are away from home, unplug or disconnect the dryer.
Do Electric Appliances Cause Carbon Monoxide?
The answer is that electric appliances will not produce carbon monoxide. Any fuel-burning devices are more likely to release carbon monoxide than electric ones. As said earlier in the article, there should be a combustion process in an appliance to dispense carbon monoxide and electric appliances usually do not have this issue.
Video Credits: Space-Heaters YouTube Channel
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