Leaving appliances turned on when you're away from home

[Laura Corin]

I leave the washing machine, dryer, dishwasher and crock pot going.  

 

Although I hear horror stories from the US about dryers, I asked a 20-year fireman here and he said he'd never attended a dryer fire.  I wonder if it's because dryers here tend to be retrofitted: they either vent through a flexible hose straight out through a wall (pretty hard for there to be build-up in a hose six inches across), or they don't vent at all: the water condenses and they have multiple lint screens.

[Word Nerd]

I feel awesome about leaving get my washer, dryer and dishwasher on while I'm out - as though I have a staff of domestic help! I never give it a second day thought beyond feeling grateful for the help.

 

Same here, as well as crock pot.

[katilac]

Dryers are nowhere near the top cause of house fires in the states; that's a very common (and persistent!) myth. I post the statistics below at least once a year on this forum, lol. 

 

Cooking is #1 by far, causing anywhere from 40% to 50% of all house fires. Smoking and electrical malfunctions are usually about 10% each.

 

Washers and dryers are only responsible for about 4% to 5%; dryers cause most of this relatively small percentage, with lack of cleaning and upkeep being the definite top cause in this category. 

 

The top ten is usually rounded out by candles, kids playing with fire, heaters, smoking, and other. 

 

60% or so of house fires will occur in a home without working smoke alarms. 

 

There is tons of misinformation about fires and the causes. For solid information, go to sites like the National Fire Protection Association. Here are a couple of links: 

 

http://www.nfpa.org/safety-information/for-consumers/causes

 

https://www.usfa.fema.gov/data/statistics/

 

 

[ktgrok]

The most common cause of household fires: the dryer. I never, ever let it run when I'm not home.

 

I don't let the dishwasher or washing machine run when I'm gone. If they were to leak...

 

Not gonna leave the oven on, either. Because fire.

 

I don't mind the crock pot or a coffee maker.

 

Same here. I know people who had a house fire from a dryer, and my parents had a fire from a dishwasher, and we had our entire kitchen and living area flood from a clothes washer. I only run appliances if people are home AND awake. 

[Guest]

Leaving the crockpot going when I am gone makes me nervous, although I still do it.

 

I don't give a second thought to have the dishwasher/washer/dryer running while I'm gone.  It's so nice to come home and have everything cleaned already :)

[Chris in VA]

I leave everything on except the stove and the oven. I am afraid I would get caught out somehow and food would burn and start a fire, more than just the appliance malfunctioning.

I don't leave the iron on. In fact, I barely turn it on at all. But that's a different survey!

[Seasider]

I leave everything on except the stove and the oven. I am afraid I would get caught out somehow and food would burn and start a fire, more than just the appliance malfunctioning.

I don't leave the iron on. In fact, I barely turn it on at all. But that's a different survey!

 

 

Oh, the iron! That's a small appliance, but I put it in the same category as toaster - only plugged in while directly in use. I don't trust just turning it off.

[Storygirl]

We had a small fire in the dishwasher once. It was really tiny -- just candle-flame sized. I heard a weird crackling sound in there, so I opened the door, and it was burning away.

 

Now I won't run the dishwasher or anything else when I am away from home. I do use the crock-pot, but only because we are often walking in the door at mealtime, so I have to prepare food in advance.

 

My mom's house burned down when she was a child, and I've had two friends who have had house fires. So it has happened to people that I know. I try to be vigilant. I put fire escape ladders in each child's bedroom. I try to avoid risk that I can control.

Edited January 30, 2016 by Storygirl

[Lanny]

A stove should not be on if one is not home. Probably the most dangerous are things like Coffee Makers and the Crock Pot in your Poll.  Years ago, we had a Black & Decker Coffee Maker that caught fire (actually, the switch was burning and there was smoke, but I don't think there were any flames).  The Refrigerator is the only thing that is in constant operation.  

[bettyandbob]

Just out of sheer curiosity. :)

 

I needed to do several loads of laundry today, but I had a load of towels already in the washer from yesterday. I ran it through the dryer once this morning, but my dryer takes FOREVER to dry towels! Then we had to go out. I briefly considered running the dryer while we were gone, but I've heard too many stories of fires, so I didn't. But then it occurred to me that I do often leave other appliances running while we are away, and maybe I shouldn't do that either.

 

Unless it's the other way around, and leaving appliances on is no big deal, and I should just get over my dryer fear. :D

I haven't read the replies, but have you checked to see if something is wrong with the dryer? I'm not sure what qualifies as forever. My dryer takes 45 to an hour. If it's more than that, that is a sign the dryer vent is clogged. Our vent runs the length of the house (really bad design) so we have to pay attention to lint build up and get it blown out.

[bettyandbob]

If I couldn't leave the cockpot on, my family would not eat. What's the point if I have guarantee being in the house 8 hours. I suspect newer crockpots are made with this in mind.

[DesertBlossom]

I am more worried about turning the dryer on right before I go to bed than when I leave the house. If the house burns down, that sucks. If it burns down when we're all asleep... that's even scarier to me.

[abba12]

NEVER a dryer, oven or stove

 

Most others are ok to me because they don't inherently produce heat

[LisaKinVA]

Yes on dishwasher and washing machine. It takes 4 hours for my washing machine to do whites or towels...so those often run at night or before I leave for swimming. Most other loads are only 1-1.5 hours. Our dryer vents internally (no clogged vents posing fire risks, because those vents get cleaned every time we use the dryer). The only time I run the dryer for longer than 30 minutes is for sheets. They can take 6 hours to dry. I'm getting new bedding this year, and am planning extra sheets, so those can hang out overweight. But until then, I run my sheets home or not. Crock pot, yes. My oven & stove are gas, so no. Everything else is off. My coffee pot is a biometric, which requires the stove.

[ktgrok]

NEVER a dryer, oven or stove

 

Most others are ok to me because they don't inherently produce heat

A dishwasher gets hot too...the metal heating element at the bottom can start a fire. 

 

Also, a flood could ruin your house. 

[PeachyDoodle]

I haven't read the replies, but have you checked to see if something is wrong with the dryer? I'm not sure what qualifies as forever. My dryer takes 45 to an hour. If it's more than that, that is a sign the dryer vent is clogged. Our vent runs the length of the house (really bad design) so we have to pay attention to lint build up and get it blown out.

 

Nah, it's been that way since we got it, so I'm not worried about it (or no more worried than I would be to leave any dryer on). We do keep it cleaned out. For whatever reason, towels always take two cycles. Everything else is fine. I guess I have really absorbent towels??

[Murphy101]

I'd be naked and have no clean coffee mugs if I could only run appliances while I'm home, which I guess means I wouldn't be able to leave anyways. In theory anyways.😉

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

I fell asleep while the dryer was on last night. When I woke up, I thought of this thread and felt compelled to come and confess :lol:

 

I'm curious about people feeling that crockpots and toasters are so dangerous. While I've experienced two washer problems and a dryer problem in my lifetime, I've never experienced, or heard of anyone experiencing, a crockpot problem or a toaster fire that wasn't related to the food inside the toaster catching fire during operation. Are lots of people seeing this? 

[RootAnn]

Since both my dishwasher & my clothes washer are pretty old and have shown some issues recently, I'm a little more gun shy about leaving them running when we're gone. My clothes washer has been known to not realize it is full & flood over. My dishwasher will sometimes just quit between the wash & rinse cycles & needs to have the door bumped to get back going. 

 

Otherwise, dryer, dishwasher, clothes dryer, and crock pot (slow cooker) would all be fine. If we had a coffee machine, I'd probably leave that on. It would depend if it had an auto-off feature, though.

 

Edited to add: We frequently run the dishwasher & dryer in the evening when we go to bed. I've been known to start laundry at 5 in the morning so DH will put the clothes into the dryer when he gets home from the nightshift. He's been known to start laundry at 4:30 a.m. before he goes to work on dayshift, so that I will put the clothes in the dryer when I get up. Having one load done first thing in the morning is GREAT.

Edited January 30, 2016 by RootAnn

[goldberry]

I voted crockpot and dryer, but confess I've done dishwasher and washing machine.  I have had a washing machine flood though.  

[Word Nerd]

I'm most surprised that some people won't leave slow cookers unattended. It cooks at a low heat, and even the CYA directions for use indicate it is safe. What is the fear there?

[Paige]

I leave them all on. The stove I'll only leave on if it's a short trip, but it really only takes me 10min to take the kids to some of their classes, round trip. Or, I might leave it on if DH is expected home any minute. Everything else, I'll take the risk.

 

We just had a washer leak this week. I was home and had NO idea. We found it rather quickly because DH came home shortly after it started and saw it. I was in another part of the house and being home did not help me notice. It wasn't leaking anywhere near me and made no noise. I know it didn't leak for long because I had just checked on it a few minutes before. 

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

This is pretty fascinating (link is a PDF). Per the NFPA that someone cited above:

 

Home Structure Fires (Including Fires Coded as Confined Fires), by Equipment Involved in Ignition (EII) Annual Average of 2007-2011 Structure Fires Reported to U.S. Fire Departments 

 

(Rounding of numbers is mine)

 

Range: 89,000

Oven: 25,000

Dryer: 14,000

Furnace: 8,800

Water heater: 6,400

Toaster/toaster oven: 2,600

Refrigerator/freezer/icemaker: 1,700

Dishwasher: 1,100

Washer: 645

Coffeemaker: 400

Slow cooker: 146

 

I'm very surprised about the toasters! Not so much about all the others. 

Edited January 30, 2016 by ILiveInFlipFlops

[creekland]

This is pretty fascinating (link is a PDF). Per the NFPA that someone cited above:

 

Home Structure Fires (Including Fires Coded as Confined Fires), by Equipment Involved in Ignition (EII) Annual Average of 2007-2011 Structure Fires Reported to U.S. Fire Departments 

 

(Rounding of numbers is mine)

 

Range: 89,000

Oven: 25,000

Dryer: 14,000

Furnace: 8,800

Water heater: 6,400

Toaster/toaster oven: 2,600

Refrigerator/freezer/icemaker: 1,700

Dishwasher: 1,100

Washer: 645

Coffeemaker: 400

Slow cooker: 146

 

I'm very surprised about the toasters! Not so much about all the others. 

 

And having seen the stats of people who admit to texting and driving (49%) or web surfing and driving (29%) on the news this past month, once again, I think the average population is not putting the correct perspective on dangers in our lives... 

[Pawz4me]

This is pretty fascinating (link is a PDF). Per the NFPA that someone cited above:

 

Home Structure Fires (Including Fires Coded as Confined Fires), by Equipment Involved in Ignition (EII) Annual Average of 2007-2011 Structure Fires Reported to U.S. Fire Departments 

 

(Rounding of numbers is mine)

 

Range: 89,000

Oven: 25,000

Dryer: 14,000

Furnace: 8,800

Water heater: 6,400

Toaster/toaster oven: 2,600

Refrigerator/freezer/icemaker: 1,700

Dishwasher: 1,100

Washer: 645

Coffeemaker: 400

Slow cooker: 146

 

I'm very surprised about the toasters! Not so much about all the others. 

 

I wish they'd given the stats for toasters and toaster ovens separately.  My *guess* is that toaster ovens probably accounted for the majority of those.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

I wish they'd given the stats for toasters and toaster ovens separately.  My *guess* is that toaster ovens probably accounted for the majority of those.

 

Actually, based on what I was reading, it's the popup toasters that seem to have more trouble (we have a toaster oven that we use a LOT in lieu of a microwave, so I wondered too). Apparently there's a common problem with the heating elements not turning off when the toaster goes off, springs weakening so the toaster doesn't register that the toast is done, and crumbs more likely to be left in the machine because it's harder to clean out. All of the articles I read showed pictures of charred popup toasters. FWIW!

Edited January 30, 2016 by ILiveInFlipFlops

[bettyandbob]

I will leave a washer running but not a dryer. This is because of fire risks. I will leave the washer running but not the dishwasher. Both could flood. In fact I have had a dishwasher flood. My washer is in the basement. If it floods it will damage the floor of our finished basement floor. If the dishwasher floods I could loose two floors and a ceiling. So, it's calculated risk.

Edited January 30, 2016 by Diana P.

[Seasider]

Actually, based on what I was reading, it's the popup toasters that seem to have more trouble (we have a toaster oven that we use a LOT in lieu of a microwave, so I wondered too). Apparently there's a common problem with the heating elements not turning off when the toaster goes off, springs weakening so the toaster doesn't register that the toast is done, and crumbs more likely to be left in the machine because it's harder to clean out. All of the articles I read showed pictures of charred popup toasters. FWIW!

Like I said, never trust a toaster!

[gaillardia]

Bread machine, anyone? Mine is okay and I have left it operating, knowing I would be back before the bread was done.

 

Our oven was not coming up to temperature but we were being incredibly careless and lazy and kept not checking to see why, would remember it wasn't working right, turn it off. Finally, it was time for the scary oven cleaning. Unplugged the oven. Started cleaning.

Found that the element had corroded away on the one side where it plugged into the back of the oven. Oh my gosh, what an idiot I felt like. We could have lost everything, right?

Dishwasher, sometimes, but we've had small leaks, so not a good idea to run it while we're gone, but we run it bedtime frequently.

 

I used to run the dryer and then go to bed. I guess I will not do that anymore.

Dehumidifiers? yes. Humidifiers? No. Vaporizers? No.

Crock pot...it depends. Sometimes.

18 months ago our heat pump/AC unit was having major problems and we decided to just turn it off. The repair guy said it could have caught fire if we had continued to use it.

 

Edited January 31, 2016 by Gaillardia

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Like I said, never trust a toaster!

 

:lol:

[ktgrok]

To put this in perspective as to the damage that can be caused, when our washer leaked we caught it within 15 minutes or less. It did 18,000 dollars worth of damage to walls,cabinets, floors, etc. Had we not been home it would have spread through the entire house and ruined al the furniture, etc as well. As it was we contained it to the major living areas. 

[flyingiguana]

I don't leave anything on if I can turn it off.  The refrigerator, furnace, air exchanger, and hot water heater are the exceptions.

 

I won't even run the dryer when we're asleep.  And we clean out the lint from the vent fairly regularly.  (What am I talking about.... we haven't had an operational dryer in over a year....)

 

But... computers, routers, etc get left on because I haven't got the energy to turn them all off and back on again.

 

And all the fish equipment -- heaters, pumps, etc -- get left on.  Those are the things that really worry me.  I know someone whose house just about burned down because a heater in an aquarium went haywire.  OUR house almost caught on fire from one of them.  But if someone in the house is going to keep fish, you're kind of stuck with them being on all the time.

 

But I do unplug the toaster when not in use.

[flyingiguana]

To put this in perspective as to the damage that can be caused, when our washer leaked we caught it within 15 minutes or less. It did 18,000 dollars worth of damage to walls,cabinets, floors, etc. Had we not been home it would have spread through the entire house and ruined al the furniture, etc as well. As it was we contained it to the major living areas. 

 

Our washer leaked when I was a kid.  The entire hardwood floor had to be replaced.

 

It was such a major event that my parents put the washer outside, where it lived my entire childhood.

 

It joined the hot water heater that had been put outside by the previous owners because of a somewhat less massive leak.

 

In fact, both sets of grandparents had their washers outside as well.  (You know, I'm beginning to miss aspects of living in California)

 

I now live in a house with a basement and a floor drain, so I don't have a problem with the appliances being in the house.  But we still keep everything in the basement up off the floor by at least a quarter inch.  (If the appliances don't leak, the outside world might)

[luuknam]

To put this in perspective as to the damage that can be caused, when our washer leaked we caught it within 15 minutes or less. It did 18,000 dollars worth of damage to walls,cabinets, floors, etc. Had we not been home it would have spread through the entire house and ruined al the furniture, etc as well. As it was we contained it to the major living areas. 

 

Location, location, location. I feel quite confident leaving the washer on, since it's on the concrete floor of the basement, which slants toward the sump pump, which is 3ft from the washer. In our previous house, the pipe *to* the washer burst, and all the water went straight out into the yard through the gap between the kitchen and the laundry room which was a later add on. The only expense was a quadrupled or so water bill that month, which was painful enough since we were poor, but w/e (oh, and a new pipe to replace the burst one, so maybe $10 or so for that).

[ktgrok]

Location, location, location. I feel quite confident leaving the washer on, since it's on the concrete floor of the basement, which slants toward the sump pump, which is 3ft from the washer. In our previous house, the pipe *to* the washer burst, and all the water went straight out into the yard through the gap between the kitchen and the laundry room which was a later add on. The only expense was a quadrupled or so water bill that month, which was painful enough since we were poor, but w/e (oh, and a new pipe to replace the burst one, so maybe $10 or so for that).

 

Good point. Ours is in our kitchen...welll in a closet cubby thing in the kitchen. Flooded the kitchen, dining room, and part of the family room.