Asbestos hazards in clothes dryers.

Was asbestos used in clothes dryers? Are there asbestos exposure risks to people using an old clothes dryer that may contain asbestos? What clothes dryer parts used asbestos?

How much asbestos is released into the air from old clothes dryers? This article lists research discussing the asbestos materials and components used in clothes dryers and possible asbestos hazards from the use of such asbestos-containing appliances.

This article series lists & describes forms in which asbestos was used in building materials & products, including providing a master list of the forms in which asbestos was used, a list of known asbestos-containing materials, and links to detailed articles about individual asbestos-containing products & materials found in buildings and in a wide range of products used in both home and industry.

Asbestos use in Clothes Dryers: a hazard to building occupants?

Question: was asbestos used in clothes dryers & clothes dryer belts?

2016/08/25 Chris said:

Do old clothes dryers contain asbestos? I read online from a few sources that old clothes dryer belts, especially belts not made in USA, often contain asbestos and that its one of the largest causes of asbestos exposure in a household. Is this true? I can't find much on it.

My dryer was manufactured in Canada in 1984, should I be concerned? Thanks

[Click to enlarge any image]

Shown here: an older Inglis® clothes dryer sold in Canada by Inglis Home Appliances.

Reply: Yes, but the asbestos hazard from dryer belts hasn't been demonstrated.

Here is where asbestos was used in clothes dryers including felts, combustion chamber insulation, drive belts, electrical components

Chris:

Clothes dryer belts in modern machines are typically fabric-reinforced rubber, but of course it's possible that asbestos was indeed used in some older clothes dryers (as I’ll cite below) and I did find through research a citation confirming use of asbestos in some dryer drive belts.

However I'd be surprised to see any credible research tracing a clothes dryer belt to a significant asbestos exposure in any building. The total volume of a clothes dryer belt is very small - just inches; and at least for the dryers I've seen, the belt is not in the air path of the dryer intake nor exhaust.

A bit of research DOES confirm that asbestos was used in some older clothes dryers from the 1940's and 1950's and possibly extending in North America at least into the late 1970's .

Reader follow-up:ok so was asbestos used in my 1984 Inglis clothes dryer sold in Canada

Chris said:

Thank you ... for your reply. In your opinion, would a clothes dryer manufactured in 1984 in Canada be suspect to containing asbestos?

The dryer is a gas-fired made by Inglis®
flag like

Moderator reply:

I have no objective data about Inglis clothes dryers sold in Canada and made in 1984, but it seems unlikely that by that year manufacturers would still be using a controversial and sometimes unsafe material in their appliances.

Have you tried contacting the Inglis company to ask them directly if Asbestos was used in any component of their product? Inglis® is currently a registered trademark of Whirlpool Canada, L.P.

• Inglis Home Appliances, Whirlpool Canada 200-6750 Century Ave. Mississauga ON L5N 0B7 Canada, Customer service Tel: 1-800-807-6777 Website: http://www.inglis.ca/
  Excerpt: 150 years ago, John Inglis and his sons started a small company in Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
  
  For Parts & Accessories sales and information about Inglis appliances, see www.whirlpoolparts.ca

Finally, look again at my OPINION about clothes dryer belts and asbestos.

In researching this question, while patent research confirms, without doubt, the use of asbestos in several clothes dryer components, research looking for studies that specifically found asbestos hazards to humans ascribed to use of clothes dryers that used asbestos in their components did not come up with much at all.

The phrase "Asbestos in clothes dryer" as a search term finds occasional mention but not data.

See

• Browne, Marilyn L., Deepa Varadarajulu, Elizabeth L. Lewis-Michl, and Edward F. Fitzgerald. "Cancer incidence and asbestos in drinking water, Town of Woodstock, New York, 1980–1998." Environmental research 98, no. 2 (2005): 224-232.
  This is an article about asbestos contamination in water.
• Burns, John P., G. Edward Cassady III, Kenneth B. Cole Jr, and Timothy R. Dodson. "Analysis of the Legal Social and Political Issues Raised by Asbestos Litigation, An." Vand. L. Rev. 36 (1983): 573.
  
  This article points out the absence of relationship between absolute level of asbestos hazards associated with specific products and the presence of litigation.
• Gualtieri, A. F. "Mineral fibre-based building materials and their health hazards." Toxicity of Building Materials (2012): 166-195.
• "Millions were exposed—were you? March 4, 2004 Asbestos: Think Again: Millions were exposed—were you?." [HTML] The New York Times (2004).
  Harvard
  
  This NY TImes article includes "clothes dryers" among residential asbestos exposure sources but cites no authoritative research supporting that specific clothes-dryer asbestos hazard listing.

It is possible that some anxiety about asbestos hazards and clothes dryer originates in research confirming that asbestos hazards in homes were sometimes traced to the washing and drying of asbestos-contaminated-clothing itself, brought home by workers who travailed in industries where that material was used.
E.g. see

• Anderson, William L. "Unwarranted Basis for Today's Asbestos Take-Home Cases, The." Am. J. Trial Advoc. 39 (2015): 107.
• Donovan, Ellen P., Brooke L. Donovan, Meg A. McKinley, Dallas M. Cowan, and Dennis J. Paustenbach. "Evaluation of take home (para-occupational) exposure to asbestos and disease: a review of the literature." Critical reviews in toxicology 42, no. 9 (2012): 703-731.
• Goswami, Emily, Valerie Craven, David L. Dahlstrom, Dominik Alexander, and Fionna Mowat. "Domestic asbestos exposure: a review of epidemiologic and exposure data." International journal of environmental research and public health 10, no. 11 (2013): 5629-5670.
• NIOSH, PROTECT YOUR FAMILY, REDUCE CONTAMINATION AT HOME [PDF] NIOSH, U.S. CDC, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service,
  Excerpt:
  
  The means by which hazardous substances have reached workers’ homes and families include:
  
  work clothing Cases involve beryllium, lead, pesticides, and other chemicals.
  
  In some cases washing machines and dryers contained dangerous levels of the materials, poisoning those laundering work clothes and contaminating other laundry.
• Rice, Carol, and Ellen F. Heineman. "An asbestos job exposure matrix to characterize fiber type, length, and relative exposure intensity." Applied occupational and environmental hygiene 18, no. 7 (2003): 506-512.

Finally, let's consider air passages and air movements into and through clothes dryers in speculating about potential asbestos hazards.

When a clothes dryer is operating room air is drawn into the cloths dryer, heated, passed through the drum interior where it absorbs moisture from wet or damp clothing in the dryer, then the moisture-laden air is blown (usually) outdoors. It's pretty much a one-way directional cycle.

If there were friable asbestos in that air passage upstream from the damp clothing, then yes it is certainly conceivable that airborne asbestos particles might be drawn into the dryer drum and thus might contaminate clothing therein.

My research to date has not found a single research article citing that hazard as actually having been demonstrated. It'd be easy enough to do so. One would collect both air samples from the clothes dryer exhaust and vacuumed dust/particle samples from various types of clothing that had been run through the dryer.

(Excluding of course asbestos-containing fabrics themselves such as fire fighting garments or clothing brought home by workers in an asbestos-using industry as I cited earlier). Perhaps then we'd need to test the clothing for asbestos before and after it has been washed and run through the clothes dryer.

I'll look further but I've not found a single research study demonstrating that such a hazard has actually been demonstrated.

Question: was asbestos used in clothes dryers & clothes dryer belts?

2016/04/15 Vanessa said:

Hi. I have a front loading clothes dryer (probably from late 80s) that is getting old and has some form of material coming through around the inside of the door. It's white-gray, flexible, and not rigid. I tried pulling on a couple of the fibers sticking out to break them off but they wouldn't break. I'm assuming it is something they used as insulation. What could this material be?

2016/04/15 Nick said:

I also have some strands of material coming from the inside ring of the dryer opening on my dryer built in 1984 in Canada. It meets the same description as Vanessa mentioned. Should I be concerned of possible asbestos? Is it likely some other also unwanted material? Thanks

2016/08/25 Chris said:

Do old clothes dryers contain asbestos? I read online from a few sources that old clothes dryer belts, especially belts not made in USA, often contain asbestos and that its one of the largest causes of asbestos exposure in a household. Is this true? I can't find much on it. My dryer was manufactured in Canada in 1984, should I be concerned? Thanks

Reply: yes. Here is where asbestos was used in clothes dryers including felts, combustion chamber insulation, drive belts, electrical components

Vanessa and Nick, it'd be unlikely that a late 1980's clothes dryer sold in the U.S. or Canada would still have contained asbestos.

Chris: Clothes dryer belts in modern machines are typically fabric-reinforced rubber, but of course it's possible that asbestos was indeed used in some older clothes dryers (as I’ll cite below) and I did find through research a citation confirming use of asbestos in some dryer drive belts.

However I'd be surprised to see any credible research tracing a clothes dryer belt to a significant asbestos exposure in any building. The total volume of a clothes dryer belt is very small - just inches; and at least for the dryers I've seen, the belt is not in the air path of the dryer intake nor exhaust.

Research finds discussions of asbestos in clothes dryers focus on the washing and drying of asbestos-contaminated clothing or other textiles. See ASBESTOS TEXTILES.

More research DOES confirm that asbestos was used in some older clothes dryers from the 1940's and 1950's and possibly extending in North America at least into the late 1970's .

Asbestos use in clothes dryer belts is cited in at least this patent disclosure: 

• Beaumont, Ralph H., Donald R. Christie, and Okrepkie John. "Synthetic dryer belt." U.S. Patent 3,323,226, issued June 6, 1967.
  
  Excerpt: In addition, even though dryer belts of the type used hereto frequently included asbestos or other heat resistant fibers, their resistance to the heat from the dryer drums in many cases proved deficient. Furthermore, difficulties frequently were encountered heretofore in the joining of the ends of the belts to provide an endless construction.

Asbestos used around electrical components in clothes dryers is cited in at least this patent: 

• Colby, Weston Steward. "Fluid conductor and lint collector for clothes drier." U.S. Patent 2,722,751, issued November 8, 1955.
  
  Excerpt: This heating element is preferably tightly wound in an open spiral to cover substantially the entire outer periphery of the imperforate cylindrical wall 27, and a thin layer of electrical insulation 38, such as, for example, asbestos or the like, is placed there between to prevent electrical contact with the drum and the opposite or free ends 39.

Asbestos was used in some clothes dryers as insulation around a combustion chamber (presumably gas-fired clothes dryers) and may have also been used around electrical components in electric clothes dryers.

Asbestos used in clothes dryer felt - felt often used to seal drum to cage, is cited in this patent:

• Santos, John RL. "Dryer felt." U.S. Patent 2,854,032, issued September 30, 1958.
  Excerpt:
  Such felts are at times 300 inches wide and of very considerable length, so that lengthwise as well as crosswise they must be quite strong.
  
  They have usually been made of cotton or other vegetable fibers to give the required strength, but when they are subjected to high temperature when wet, they rapidly scorch and rot and because of this destruction they have frequently been made partly of asbestos or similar heat and acid resistant materials, retaining a large proportion of warp ends of cotton to assure the required strength.

Asbestos use in clothes dryers in other insulating applications: 

• Harwood, Stanley G., "Clothes-drying machine." U.S. Patent 2,385,223, issued September 18, 1945.
  
  Excerpt: The insulating material 20 may be of any composition suitable to its purpose. A rearward wall 22 of the machine may be of any suitable material. As disclosed, the major portion of the rearward wall 22 is composed of asbestos.
• Bradley Jr John, E. "Portable clothes drier." U.S. Patent 2,496,517, issued February 7, 1950.
• Olthuis Eugene G "Clothes dryer." U.S. Patent 2,790,247, issued April 30, 1957. assigned to General Electric. Similar to above.

Clothes dryers eliminating use of asbestos: 

• Grantham, Frederick W. "Continuous laundry drying apparatus." U.S. Patent 4,015,930, issued April 5, 1977.
  Cites invention features that eliminate the use of asbestos in the combustion chamber.

Examples of Asbestos-containing Fabrics & Textiles that May have Passed Through Clothes Dryers & Washing Machines

Note: most of the uses of asbestos listed here are obsolete and the products mentioned have not been manufactured for quite some time. However these products may still be encountered, particularly in older buildings and among old consumer products.

• ASBESTOS CLOTH including asbestos-contaminated jute or burlap bags
• ASBESTOS MAIL BAGS
• ASBESTOS PILLOWCASES
• ASBESTOS MACHINE GUN MITTENS
• ASBESTOS PACKINGS & GASKETS
• ASBESTOS TEXTILES
• Asbestos clothing used for fire & safety garments (image above). A complete list of uses of asbestos including in clothing and other textiles and fabrics is
  
  at ASBESTOS LIST of PRODUCTS
• Asbestos Felt was used in products such as acoustical liners, noise insulation, adhesives, plastics and in clothes dryers.
  
  The properties of asbestos felts are described in table 9.2 found
  
  at ASBESTOS in PLASTICS

• Asbestos in other appliances: asbestos was used in other appliances and small apliances such as toasters, toaster ovens, and Hair dryers containing asbestos were sold by many companies including Clairol, COnair, General Electric, Gillette, J.C. Penny, Montgomery Ward, Norelco, Shick, Sears Roebuck & Co., Sunbeam

Asbestos in many forms was discontinued in all home construction uses beginning in 1990, 

but beware: pre-1990 products might have been used in some homes built shortly afterwards.

Low asbestos risk in some materials: 

One should note that some of these products contain such small amounts of asbestos, or asbestos in forms not easily converted to airborne fibers (non-friable), that the risk from the product is likely to be very small. One might elect to dispose of an old asbestos-containing toaster, but not to hire an environmental test firm or asbestos abatement company for that procedure.

Many other asbestos-containing products, both historic and among some current products, encapsulate the asbestos fibers in cementious or resinous materials which minimize the possible release of asbestos fibers into the air.

Clothes Dryer Asbestos Sources & Research

• 16 CFR Chapter 11, Consumer Products Containin Asbestos, Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking", [PDF] U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission, CPSC, U.S. Federal Register, Vol. 44. No 201, 17 October 1979, Proposed Rules, 60057. This document cites a long list of consumer products that contained asbestos.
• "Asbestos in Your Home," Spokane County Air Pollution Control Authority, Spokane WA 509-477-4727 www.scapa.org provides a one-page image, a .pdf file drawing of a house warning of some possible sources of asbestos in the home. The sources are not ranked according to actual risk of releasing hazardous levels of airborne asbestos fibers and the list is useful but incomplete.
• Chrysotile [asbestos] and Its Uses, Louis Perron, Minerals and Metals Sector, Canadian Minerals Yearbook, 2002, Natural Resources Canada, web search 03/01/2011, original source: http://www.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/mms-smm/busi-indu/cmy-amc/content/2002/20.pdf
• ASBESTOS IN YOUR HOME U.S. EPA, Exposure Evaluation Division, Office of Toxic Substances, Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington,D.C. 20460
• Asbestos products and their history and use in various building materials such as asphalt and vinyl flooring includes discussion which draws on ASBESTOS, ITS INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS, ROSATO 1959, D.V. Rosato, engineering consultant, Newton, MA, Reinhold Publishing, 1959 Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 59-12535 (out of print, text and images available at InspectAPedia.com).
• EPA ASBESTOS MATERIALS BAN: CLARIFICATION 1999
• EPA Guidance for Controlling Asbestos-Containing Materials in buildings, NIAST, National Institute on Abatement Sciences & Technology, [republishing EPA public documents] 1985 ed., Exposure Evaluation Division, Office of Toxic Substances, Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington,D.C. 20460

 

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Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

Question: does my older Sears clothes dryer contain asbestos?

I was wondering if a Kenmore dryer, Serial number M70521373, Model number 110. 86670800 might contain asbestos.

Specifically the back piece in the drum area which appears white and fuzzy.

I have been unable to find the exact date of manufacture so any help would be greatly appreciated.

I included a picture of said area. Sorry about the pic quality. Thank you! - Kellie 2023/10/11

This Q&A were posted originally at ASBESTOS LIST of PRODUCTS 

Moderator reply:

Thanks for the photos and question about the use of asbestos in Sears clothes dryers.

I'm not sure juset what "back piece" in the drum area is the subject of your concern: a gasket visible between the drum back edge and the back of the dryer?

If so, yes some 1970s gaskets might have used asbestos, though in my OPINION asbestos was more-likely to be found in clothes dryers around electric or other heater elements, often as a millboard or paperboard "fireproof" or "fire safety" barrier.

Clothes dryer drum gaskets and door gaskets were more-often made of cotton or rubber, and later of nylon or similar synthetic materials.

Watch out: however some of our sources mention use of a fabric or yarn that combined asbestos and nylon (Sunbury 1951) and asbestos is mentioned in description of certain dryer felts, seals and components such as heat-resistant electrical wire insulation.

As you can read above on this page, some Sears products in the 1950s contained asbestos, such as some Irons and possibly washing machines, so I don't rule that use out in older Sears clothes dryers.

From your model number I'm guessing your dryer is hardly a 1950's unit, more likely 1970's

Please see

CLOTHES DRYER ASBESTOS [you are now on that page] here we'll include your photos and question in the reader Q&A to invite further comment.

Example Patents of Dryer Felt, Seal or Gaskets

• Asten, Dietrich V. DRYER FELT FOR FINE QUALITY PAPER [PDF] U.S. Patent 2,865,409, issued December 23, 1958.
  
  Note that this is a paper processing machine not a clothes dryer.
• Doolan, John Thomas CLOTHES DRYING MACHINE [PDF] U.S. Patent 2,561,652, issued July 24, 1951.
  
  Excerpt: The whole cabinet is asbestos lined, and also has an air space within its double walls, for thorough insulation.
  
  [Note that this is not a modern rotating drum type clothes dryer - Ed.]
• Geldhof, Eduard Peter, and Charles E. Morgenstern. CLOTHES DRYER [PDF] U.S. Patent 2,546,925, issued March 27, 1951.
  [Incorrectly indexed by patentimages under Eduard]
  
  There is no mention of asbestos in this patent disclosure.
• Kripke, Joseph B. AUTOMATIC HUMIDITY SENSING CONTROL FOR A CLOTHES DRYER [PDF] U.S. Patent 3,169,838, issued February 16, 1965.
  
  Excerpt:
  
  Prior to winding the resistance wire wrapped mandrel about the asbestos sleeve 106, the insulation 114 is removed as at M6 to expose the bare wire of the resistance conductor 1%.
  
  Thus, after the mandrel is wrapped about the asbestos sleeve, the uninsulated portion 116 of the resistance wire 1153 is embedded in the asbestos wicking while aninsulated portion 118 extends above the asbestos wicking 106.
  
  in other words, the insulation is removed from the surface of the resistance wire coil where the wire comes in contact with the asbestos wicking. 
  
• Kripke, Joseph B. CONTROL SYSTEM for CLOTHES DRYER [PDF] U.S. Patent 3,253,347, issued May 31, 1966.
  
  Cites uses of asbestos in clothes dryer as in his 1965 patent application.
  
• Moore, William A. HEAT RESISTANT FIBROUS AMPHIBOLE ASBESTOS BOARD CONTAINING AN INORGANIC BINDER [PDF] U.S. Patent 3,334,010, issued August 1, 1967.
  
  Excerpt:
  
  Asbestos millboard also serves as a heat shield and thermal insulation in many household appliances such as clothes dryers, electric grills, ovens, toasters, and broilers, etc.
• Olges, Laurence T. "Clothes dryer air flow test device and method." U.S. Patent 4,088,017, issued May 9, 1978.
  
  There is no mention of asbestos in this patent disclosure.
  
  Excerpt:
  
  a resilient gasket attached to the depending wall of the shroud member to act as a seal between the shroud member and rear wall of the drum.
• Sisler, Robert R. AIR SEAL ARRANGEMENT IN A CLOTHES DRYER [PDF] U.S. Patent 4,069,596, issued January 24, 1978.
  
  Excerpt:
  An air seal arrangement in a clothes dryer having a cabinet housing a rotatable drum, the drum having a front wall with a loading opening therethrough and the cabinet having an access opening larger than the drum loading opening.
  
  There is a circular seal ring having a circumferential area tapered inwardly and the ring extends from the cabinet front through the access opening of the cabinet into the loading opening of the drum.
  
  A seal is provided having an area attached to the front wall of the drum circumferentially around the loading opening and a flexible area extending from the attached area toward the front of the cabinet.
  
  The seal ring and seal cooperate and overlappingly engage each other at the tapered area of the seal ring and the flexible area of the seal to provide the air seal.
  
  There is no mention of asbestos in this patent disclosure.
• Smith, T. "Bulkhead seal for clothes dryer." U.S. Patent 3,816,942, issued June 18, 1974.
  
  There is no mention of asbestos in this patent disclosure.
  
• Smoot, E. "Clothes dryer seal." U.S. Patent 3,828,445, issued August 13, 1974.
  
  There is no mention of asbestos in this patent disclosure.
• Smoot, Edward H. "Seal for clothes dryer." U.S. Patent 3,875,686, issued April 8, 1975.
  
  
  There is no mention of asbestos in this patent disclosure.
• Sunbury, Herbert E., and Walter C. Hitchcock. ASBESTOS-NYLON COVER CLOTH [PDF] U.S. Patent 2,542,297, issued February 20, 1951.
  
• Taylor, Christopher G., and Frank A. Barsocchini. "Protector for gasket for clothes dryer door." U.S. Patent 3,047,187, issued July 31, 1962.
  
  Focused on dryer door gasket wear, there is no mention of asbestos in this patent disclosure.
• Whyte, Ronal H., and Nelson J. Pansing. "Seal for rotary drum drier." U.S. Patent 2,886,901, issued May 19, 1959.
  
  There is no mention of asbestos in this patent disclosure.
  
  Excerpt:
  Still another object is to provide a dryer of the type having a tumbling drum formed with a rear perforated wall portion located adjacent a vertically extending bulkhead, and having a perforated seal circumscribing the rear perforated wall portion of the tumbling drum and interposed between the bulkhead and tumbling drum to form an inlet air chamber for the tumbling drum, the seal being effectively cooled by air passing through the perforations formed in the seal.
  

On 2023-03-08 by InspectApedia Editor

@Jesús,

Favor de encontrar este topico ahora a

https://inspectapedia.com/hazmat/Effects-of-Asbestos-Contaminated-Water.php

On 2023-03-06 by Jesús

Hola.
Disculpar por no poder escribir en ingles.
Leyendo este artículo, hago una reflexión.

Al parecer es mas o menos aceptado que el agua de consumo puede tener hasta mas de 1 MFL (millón de fibras por litro de agua) de asbesto, dependiendo de las áreas estudiadas. Entonces, si el agua se usa para ducharse, lavar la ropa, lavar los vasos y cubiertos, el suelo etc..

al secarse todas estas fibras quedarían en las superficies, el suelo, las toallas usadas, la vajilla..
Entonces ¿todas las casas y objetos que se lavan con agua estarían contaminadas por asbesto?
Gracias!

On 2021-01-09 by danjoefriedman (mod)

Richard

I'm researching your question about asbestos in Fisher / Paykel dryer belts, but do keep in mind that the asbestos hazard from dryer belts hasn't been demonstrated.

Your'e talking about a principally rubberised non-friable material (some wear possible) with extremely-small total volume and surface area.

Residential clothes dryer belt dimensions

Dryer belt dimensions vary a bit by manufacturer model and brand but are typically about 92 to 94" in total length and are 1/4" wide.
The total dryer belt surface area then, counting both the "wear" side (against the pulleys) and the back side, would be about four square feet of area of rubberised material.

I have not found a single scholarly, peer-reviewed article reporting asbestos hazards from particle shedding from residential clothes dryer belts.

Here is an example research reference finding the use of asbestos in a dryer belt:

Beaumont, Ralph H., Donald R. Christie, and Okrepkie John. "Synthetic dryer belt." U.S. Patent 3,323,226, issued June 6, 1967.
Excerpt:

Moreover, primarily because of the highly absorbent, deformable nature of many prior belts, the belts exhibited a tendency to rewet the sheet being dried and were dificult to keep clean. In addition, even though dryer belts of the type used hereto frequently included asbestos or other heat resistant fibers, their resistance to the heat from the dryer drums in many cas-es proved deficient. Furthermore, difiiculties frequently were encountered heretofore in the joining 0f the ends of the belts to provide an endless construction.

Asbestos was used in various clothes dryer parts that might, in older dryers, be an asbestos source if the dryer is damaged though it's doubtful that many such machines continue in use today, so long after the end of use of asbestos in these appliances.

Scofield, Donald W. "Fabric dryer with lint burning means." U.S. Patent 3,061,942, issued November 6, 1962.
Excerpt:

For that purpose the screen is woven from electrical resistance wire of high heat generating and retaining properties, such as wire of a nickelchromium alloy, for example the alloy known as Nichrome.

This screen element 39 is welded or otherwise securely aflixed to a pair of rugged metal members which form terminals 31, the assembled screen and terminal members being mounted on an insulating support, such as a slab 32 of asbestos or like material, which occupies and spans the interior of the intake duct 27.

Moore, James R. "Clothes-drying machine." U.S. Patent 2,385,223, issued September 18, 1945.
Excerpt:

As disclosed, the major portion of the rearward wall 22 is composed of asbestos.

Weiss, Aaron J. "Oven clothes-dryer." U.S. Patent 2,775,824, issued January 1, 1957.
Excerpt:

Generally speaking, the present invention includes support-case means made up of front end-wall means, side wall means, rear wall means, and apertured bottom means; in the specific form illustrated in Figs. 1-5, the supportcase is formed by front end-wall 1, sidewalls 2a and 2b, rear wall 3, and bottom 4 carrying insulation (e. g., asbestos) at Sand defining apertures 6 to permit heat from the oven-bottom to pass therethrough.

The most common location of asbestos in clothes dryers is probably in the electrical wire insulation used at the dryer electric heating elements (obviously only for electric clothes dryers).

On 2021-01-09 by Richard Hackett-jones

Do the belts in fisher and paykel clothes dryers contain asbestos?

On 2019-02-24 by danjoefriedman (mod)

Michael

You're concerned about the felt, or the Teflon, or adhesives that were used in its installation? I'll be glad to do some research but I need to know what I'm looking for.

On 2019-02-24 by Michael A Askew

I worked in an Industrial Felt factory in 1970s, many of the products also used teflon impregnated as a lubticant, such as the seal gasket surrounding Dryer Drums by the door to load / unload machine, other applications as for electrical boxes, etc.

we would get rolls of felt, cut strips, or feed punch presses to make all the parts we shipped. Im now in my 60s and concerned about this.

On 2016-09-14 by danjoefriedman (mod)

Chris,

That sounds reasonable to me.

Very often some asbestos containing materials can be recognized by visual inspection. For example asbestos paper or asbestos pipe insulation used in certain applications. So an actual look inside of the dryer, should opportunity permit, or should you be willing to do the disassembly required, would also be useful.

On 2016-09-08 by Chris

I spoke with Inglis Canada today and they told me they don't have the model number in their database anymore and they have no information on machines older than ~20 years.

The agent said she spoke with her "expert" and she said that she isn't aware of asbestos being used in any of their products and highly doubts it contains asbestos but cannot confirm because they have no records on the specific machine.

So from this point I'm going to assume it likely doesn't contain asbestos, or if it does than it's very unlikely to be of any significance in normal operation of the machine. Thanks Dan

...

Continue reading  at BUILDING & FABRIC ASBESTOS CONTAMINATION by WATER or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

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