# Putting oil-soiled items in the dryer? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 4, 2013, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putting-oil-soiled-items-in-the-dryer/662625 "2013-07-04T11:38:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mathematics](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@Mathematics](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathematics)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putting-oil-soiled-items-in-the-dryer/662625/1 "2013-07-04T11:38:52Z")
I noticed that my dryer has a sticker that says, “Do not put anything that has ever come in contact with oil in the dryer (even cooking oils). Doing so can lead to fire and death.” I am pretty surprised. Do people really hang things up to dry if they have ever come in contact with any sort of oil? (Except, I assume, the oil that comes from our skin.) For example, I often use cotton cloths to apply moisturizer to my face. The kind I use is almost all mineral oil. Am I really putting myself at risk if I dry those in the dryer? I’m assuming not, but they have indeed once come in contact with oil. So yeah, any information is appreciated about oil and dryer fires. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putting-oil-soiled-items-in-the-dryer/662625/2 "2013-07-04T11:52:51Z")
I suspect that this is more about protecting the manufacturer from lawsuits than the user from conflagration. Like the ‘may contain nuts’ found on almost every food package, including nuts. I image it would be foolish and dangerous to stuff your wet and oil soaked overalls into a dryer. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putting-oil-soiled-items-in-the-dryer/662625/3 "2013-07-04T11:57:19Z")
Oil soaked lint on the lint filter can make the lint filter airtight. blocked lint filters cause fires. ---
**Author:** ![Mathematics](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@Mathematics](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathematics)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putting-oil-soiled-items-in-the-dryer/662625/4 "2013-07-04T12:07:06Z")
Ah, so this is probably a problem with oil soaked things and not things that have “ever come in contact with oil”. I just found that such a strange and foreboding warning. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putting-oil-soiled-items-in-the-dryer/662625/5 "2013-07-04T12:31:33Z")
The warning does seem a bit OTT. After all, all your clothing has come into contact with skin oils. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putting-oil-soiled-items-in-the-dryer/662625/6 "2013-07-04T23:45:15Z")
Commonly seen warning in laundromats, especially in communities near oil fields. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2013, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putting-oil-soiled-items-in-the-dryer/662625/7 "2013-07-05T11:17:14Z")
Did you know that you are not supposed to iron clothes while wearing them either? ---
**Author:** ![Mathematics](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@Mathematics](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathematics)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2013, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putting-oil-soiled-items-in-the-dryer/662625/8 "2013-07-05T11:37:02Z")
Well, it seems obvious that you’re not supposed to put something soaked in a flammable item in the dryer. But the two things that seemed weird to me were: - It specifically says not to dry anything that has “ever come in contact with oil”, which, as has been pointed out, all clothes have. - It says “even cooking oils” implying that small amounts of everyday oil might be a problem. ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2013, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putting-oil-soiled-items-in-the-dryer/662625/9 "2013-07-05T15:49:10Z")
Decades ago when I lived in a military barracks we had a fool who got oil all over his fatigues. He decided to put gasoline on the oil spots then wash them. This created quite a fire when he put them in a gas dryer.