For those of you with woodstoves...

[Adaline'sMama]

do you ever burn dryer lint?

We have two woodstove that we use for 100% of our heat. I've been trying really really hard for the past year to have pretty much ZERO landfill waste. When we get packages, I take the tape off of the box and rip it into small pieces to use for kindling. I use all mail (except envelopes with clear plastic windows, super colored paper and glossy ads), newspapers, scrap paper, ect. I monitor everything that goes into the trash can to see if it can either be recycled or burned. We dont create a lot of waste anyway, but Id say we have a 9x12x4 box of paper to burn once a week. We burn almost all hardwood that is naturally harvested from downed trees on our land. We buy oak slabwood from our sawmill once a year just to have thin wood to start a fire with, or warm the house up really fast if we've been gone all day.

So, about a year ago, I started saving my dryer lint and toilet paper tubes. We hang dry most of our clothes in the winter, and all of them in the summer, so I really dont have a huge collection of dryer lint stuffed toilet paper tubes. I currently have 4 tubes and they are stored inside a freezer bag, inside a one gallon glass jar to prevent them from being a fire hazard. I feel like its important to note that all of our paper and kindlin is stored on the side porch. No paper in the house, less chance of fire.

So, it strikes me that this may be hazardous to the enviroment. I use Charlies Laundry Soap, and no softener, no dryer sheets, or anything. So, is it safe to burn? As i said, I dont have very many,  so I use one maybe once a week to start a fire.

[seashells]

I'm subscribing because I'm interested, but one thing I don't see you mentioning is what kind of clothes your family wears.

If your lint is all cotton and linen and wool (I guess.. I figure there's no wool in your dryer but who knows) then I think you have a full green light to burn it.

But if your dryer lint is anything like mine, its made from polyester. And that is something I hesitate to burn in my woodstove. I too have the toilet paper tubes and I have started stuffing some but I never burned any because I am just thinking this is basically plastic I'd be burning.

[Adaline'sMama]

Well, actually I only have a few polyester things and I usually hang dry them. Towels are the things that create the most lint and I just looked on the tag and its says they are 100% cotton. I have been drying my prefolds and they also create a lot of lint.  The other main thing in my dryer is Carharts and 100% cotton tshirts and - it is what DH primarly wears for work. Now youve made me want to go look at all the tags on all my clothes!

Oh, and PS. There is wool in my dryer more than often that I would prefer. Just today, I shrunk yet another alpaca sock :(

[seashells]

I think burning cotton is no problem at all.

[hildare]

i wouldn't burn that in the woodstove.. however, i would have no issue with burning it in a barrel outside.

the reason i wouldn't in the woodstove is that burning stuff other than wood can create soot buildup on the pipes/chimney more than is safe. 

[ecoteat]

We do. A handful of dryer lint disappears almost instantly in the woodstove. We wear almost entirely natural materials, so there would only be a tiny amount of poly in the fibers.

[rhianna813]

We use out woodstove for most of our heat and I just recently started burning our dryer lint. Before I was just composting it because we wear almost all cotton. I think stuffing TP rolls with the lint for fire starters is a great idea!

You can also stuff lint or saw dust into cardboard egg carton cups. Add a bit of melted wax for a fire starter too.

Rhianna

[hibana]

I mix it with kitchen grease and put it in cardboard egg cartons to make fire starters. My dh laughs at me but they work really well.

[BeckyBird]

Can I make a suggestion for extra lint? You could put it in a mesh bag, like the kind used to hold onions. Hang the bag outside in a tree this spring. Birds might pick out the lint to use for their nests. It might help to hang the lint near a feeder, where birds usually visit.

[Shantimama]

 I usually compost our dryer lint as it all comes from cotton.

[cparkly]

I have made waterproof firestarters with dryer lint, like this.

[Meksmama]

Originally Posted by cparkly 

I have made waterproof firestarters with dryer lint, like this.

I will have to try to make these... thanks