The United States is the second largest global producer of carbon dioxide emissions. Residential emissions in the United States account for 20% of this total, with 8.3% attributable to consumer laundry. By introducing simple products which encourage consumers to change how they dry their laundry the United States can reduce carbon emissions by the equivalent of taking 12% of its passenger cars or 23 coal plants off the grid.

Findings

• An Estimated 2,900 clothes dryer fires in residential buildings are reported to U.S. fire department each year and cause an estimated 5 deaths, 100 injuries, and $35 million in property loss.

• Clothes dryer fire incidence in residential buildings are higher in the fall and winter months, peaking in January at 11 percent.

• Failure to clean (34 percent) was the leading factor contributing to the ignition of clothes dryers fires in residential buildings.

• Dust, fiber and lint (28 percent) and clothing not on a person (27 percent) were, by far, the leading items first ignited in clothes dryer fires in residential buildings.

• Fifty-four percent of clothes dryer fires in residential buildings were confined to the object of origin.

Source: usfa.fema.gov

 

An electric dryer typically consumes more electricity than any other appliance in the U. S. home, and costs approximately 60 cents an hour to run. Gas dryers are only slightly more efficient and consume a significant amount of natural gas or propane to dry each load of laundry.