We take things as they are, do we not? Things are designed, and they exist, and we accept them.
But some things often could be much better than they are. So why aren’t they?
Dry Me Up, Scotty: The Saga
Let’s talk about a clothes dryer. Some weeks ago my clothes started to not be dry after a dryer run. After a brief consideration with myself, I realized the most likely culprit was lint build-up. Also, I found corroboration on line that this was likely the case.
So I set about finding out how to clean the innards of the dryer. YouTube was invaluable. I found more than one video where someone likely more experienced than I set about showing how they opened and cleaned a dryer. Fortunate for me, there were some videos showing how to do this with a dryer from the same manufacturer as the one I have, so I was able to see the exact process stop by step.
Process, and Slowly, Please
First step was to open the dryer door and remove two screws positioned vertically in the front opening of the unit. This proved more difficult than it seemed. To position myself where I had enough leverage and thrust to turn the screws required me to be seated in front of the dryer from a low position, as standing did not position me with enough force.
These two screws actually held the top of the dryer in place. Once the screws were loosened and removed, I needed to lift up the top of the machine, place it aside, and remove two additional screws that held the front of the dryer in place. After removal of these two screws, I needed to pivot the front of the machine away from the machine itself without damaging the wires connecting the front panel to the main part of the machine. Despite its precariousness, I accomplished this last task easily.
The Reveal
Needless to say, there was a lot of lint inside the machine. A lot. Way too
much. So it embarrasses me to say that this is the first time I opened and cleaned this dryer. The hard part is admitting that the dryer is nineteen years old. I guess I am lucky I had a chance to open the dryer and clean it, instead of experiencing a fire.
What Does Luck Have To Do With It?
Lucky I am that no catastrophe occurred in these nineteen years. But it could easily have been bad, very bad. Learn from my experience: clean out your dryer.
Lint build-up is a leading cause of fires
I’ll say it again. Lint build-up is a leading cause of fires, And cleaning
out the lint trap (the small screen section one can easily pull out after each load is dried) is a start, but not enough. One needs to clean out the innards of the dryer once in a while. Please don’t wait nineteen years like I did.
There are almost 3,000 fires in the U.S. caused by dryers each year. The major cause of these fires is failure to clean the lint. These fires cause several deaths each year, and property damage reaches into the tens of millions of dollars.
But Wait, There’s More
In addition to the dryer itself, the exhaust pipes also need to be cleaned out. In my experience, the exhaust venting pipes are as important to be cleaned as the dryer itself. That took a little doing as well.
Designed For What?
After this experience, I started to consider why the dryer was designed the way it was. Why is cleaning the dryer basically a repair mechanic’s job? Why wasn’t it as easy to open and clean out as, say, a vacuum cleaner?
No Vacuum Cleaners Were Harmed In This Story
If lint build up is a leading cause of dryer fires, why is it so difficult to
open a dryer and clean it? Why is is easier to open and clean a vacuum cleaner than a clothes dryer? Wouldn’t fire prevention and safety be an important consideration?
The Reality Of Commerce
The reason the dryer was not easy to open and clean is because it wasn’t designed to be so. It was designed probably with the following in mind:
– Ease of manufacture.
– Ease of sale.
– Ease of operation.
The requirements for ease of cleaning of a dryer were not a factor in its
design were likely for the following reasons:
– Likely would add more costs to initially manufacture.
– Difficulty of opening and cleaning assured income to local repair personnel.
Are Products Not Designed To Prevent Harm?
It’s a sad commentary on modern life that products which are designed to make our lives more convenient can also destroy. There is infinitely less likelihood of a fire from hanging clothes on a clothes line.
Where have you found danger in convenience? You can comment here.
The map “A General Map of the World, or Terraqueous Globe with all the New Discoveries and Marginal Delineations, Containing the Most Interesting Particulars in the Solar, Starry and Mundane System” was created by Samuel Dunn in 1794. It was published in “Kitchin’s General Atlas, describing the Whole Universe: being a complete collection of the most approved maps extant; corrected with the greatest care, and augmented from the last edition of D’Anville and Robert with many improvements by other eminent geographers, engraved on Sixty-Two plates, comprising Thirty Seven maps” by Laurie & Whittle, London, 1797.
The original patent for a machine to slice bread all at once was submitted in 1928 and issued in 1932.
The woodblock print of “Red Parrot on the Branch of a Tree” is part of a set of Meiji era copies (ca. 1900) of Itō Jakuchū (1716–1800), a Japanese painter of the mid-Edo period.
The post What Is It Designed For? appeared first in Smile If You Dare.