Chances are you’ve barely given it a second thought. That gray fuzz that you clean out of your lint trap—what the heck is that stuff anyway?
Lint is made up of tiny bits of fabric fibers that shed from the edges of your garment during the laundry process. Natural fibers like cotton and wool tend to generate more lint than synthetic materials.
According to Popular Science, when clothes go through the washer, dirt and lint are lifted from the garments but remain on the fabric in its wet state. During drying, the lint starts to release as the moisture leaves the garments and friction increases as a result of the tumbling action. The heating mechanism in your dryer creates an air stream that sweeps through garments blowing lint off and trapping it in the lint screen. And because the screen only catches an estimated 70% of that gray fuzz, the dryer’s exhaust system, which pulls heat and moisture safely out of your home, also helps to suction lint off your clothes.
Makes sense, but you’re probably wondering why your load of laundry goes in colorful, but the lint always comes out gray. The reason for the uniformity of color is that when you mix colors at random, you end up with a muddy, dark mess. Try melting a box of crayons and you’ll get the same result. Most wardrobes are blues, grays and blacks, with a smattering of reds, greens and browns. Mix together and you get a bluish-tinged gray every time.
Schedule your dryer vent cleaning in Central Oregon today so you can keep your lint in check.