My homemade pet fur decomissioner nearly caught my kitchen on fire when I left it running overnight.

Was trying to solve the endless tumbleweed of golden retriever fur piling up in my apartment in Austin, so I rigged a box fan with a furnace filter and a metal mesh screen to burn off the collected fuzz, but after 8 hours of running unattended the motor started smoking and melted the plastic housing; has anyone else tried a safer way to zap animal hair without risking a grease fire?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_fiona20d ago

Honestly, "nearly caught my kitchen on fire" is giving me flashbacks. Ngl, I tried something similar with a shop vac and a dryer sheet once. The motor didn't smoke but it smelled like burning plastic and melted laundry lint for three days. Now I just brush my golden retriever outside every morning and vacuum twice a week. It's boring but at least my apartment doesn't smell like a barbecue pit.

jadej5020d ago

Push back on that, tbh. I get that the shop vac hack has its risks, but I've been doing a similar thing for years with my workshop and never had a problem. Ngl, you gotta be smart about it - don't let the lint pile up too long and keep an eye on the motor temperature. I'd rather take the minor risk than spend my whole morning brushing a dog. Twice a week vacuuming still leaves dust everywhere anyway. Honestly, calling it a fire hazard feels like overkill when people leave space heaters running unattended in their bedrooms every night.

jasonf3519d ago

Wow, that's a wild story with the dryer sheet. Did the shop vac actually survive that or did you have to toss it? I'm just curious because I've always wondered if those things can handle a little heat without totally dying on you.