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While you may be aware of some of the most common causes of house fires, there are other hidden dangers around your home that can cause some pretty scary damage.
According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), there were 494,000 structure fires reported in the U.S. in 2014, causing 2,860 civilian deaths, 13,425 civilian injuries and $9.8 billion in property damage.
A home fire was reported every 86 seconds.
It may not come as a surprise to learn that cooking and heating equipment are among the leading causes of house fires in the U.S., according to data from the NFPA. But when it comes to other fire hazards in the home, many people are unaware of all the things that could be putting their family at risk.
Read more: 12 things your homeowners insurance likely doesn’t cover
How often do you clean out the lint filter in your dryer? While it’s one of those annoying tasks nobody actually likes, it can prevent your home from going up in flames.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, more than 15,000 home clothes dryer fires are reported each year — and one of the primary causes is failure to clean them.
So to keep your home safe, here are some dos and don’ts from the U.S. Fire Administration on how to properly use and clean your dryer:
Cleaning
Clothes dryer don’ts
For more tips on safe installation, maintenance and more, check out the group’s website.
Read more: 16 things you never want to put down your garbage disposal
This post was last modified on March 22, 2017 3:58 pm
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