Using a dryer tor - - -
 

I would never put wet, muddy clothes in my dryer to remove moisture and dirt because it would get my dryer cruddy and then I would have to clean it out before putting freshly washed items in it.

So - following that logic -

It seems to me that putting an unwashed top that is full of pet hair and dander into a dryer would also get it cruddy and would require cleaning out before putting freshly washed items in it.

I don't mind putting a freshly WASHED item in the dryer that has hair on it to get it off - that is CLEAN hair.

Is my thinking right or wrong?

I'll part company with you on this one Sharon, the dryer's vent catches all the hair and threads.

But what about while it's tossing around in the dryer and touching all the inside surfaces?

Wouldn't some of that dander stick?

I say it's up to you. Do what you're comfortable with. No dryer police. LOL

I'm with Kalama. The inside of my dryer is stainless and very slick. The clothes are being tossed around constantly. I doubt any pet dander would stick to it. I do toss clothes that have been worn in to de hair or de wrinkle them, but it's not like they are all sweaty or icky and I do take showers on a daily basis so my clothes aren't all icky after being worn for a short period of time. A lot of the time, it will be a jacket that wasn't in contact with my skin at all so it doesn't bother me.

I take Kola the cat's pillows (one on my desk and the one from her teepee) And vacuum up the loose hairs then toss them in the dryer on air fluff for 30 minutes. This process gets about 90% of the hair off of the pillows.

I usually do this before I do a through cleaning of the filter and vent area. At least every 6 weeks to prevent build up.

I wouldn't throw something covered in animal hair in the dryer but my thinking would be that it's not the best way to remove the dander or hair.
I toss my feather pillows in the dryer once a week to fluff them. I warm my flannel lap quilt each night when I get ready to curl up in my recliner. I warm my coat in the winter when I'm getting ready to head outside. I have a head full of very thick hair that's only gets washed twice a week and I shed hair like a Yeti so there's a lot of mostly unwashed hair in my dryer:)

I'm with the bear. I tried hair removal that way once. Next load picked up hair even after cleaning the lint trap.

It never occurred to me to use a dryer to remove hair on an unclean item. I'm with bear---don't think I'll do that. I always just vacuum and use a sticky roller. We have a very hairy dog that sheds constantly, thus sticky rollers all over the house, even in the cars.

Don't forget static electricity, that will make hair, and I assume dander, stick to the inside of the dryer....lots of it.

Ever so often I will get a clean towel and have to pick knotted cat hair off of it. Cat's been dead for three years. This conversation started on a different thread, but it is still on same subject. I am going to say what we are all or some of us are thinking. It is the customer's responsibility to present to the LA a clean top, batting and backing. No loose threads, pins, or animal hair whatsoever. Sometimes I am too outspoken for my own good. And you are right, I have very few friends :).

My thinking is if it is your personal items you are putting in dryer and you have a pet what difference does it make if the dryer keeps dander or pet hair? It's all around you daily anyway. Always ask the LA if having pet in the house is a problem and have the top and backing as free of pet as possible.

I was actually thinking about another thread -

If i am allergic to pet dander - why would i want someone else's pet dander in MY dryer?

When the other poster was asking how to deal with allergens on items brought to her for long arming.

I never put unwashed items in my dryer. It is just one of my little quirks.

I never put dirty items in my dryer. I have put things in it to get warm, but they were clean - - - or clean enough. Sometimes I put my pajamas in the dryer to warm up when I'm not feeling well and need the warmth.

I take dirty items outside and shake, shake, shake. Then just wash them. The washer seems to take everything off. Sometimes a pillow will loose feathers or a rug will loose pile in the washer and I have to wipe it out with a damp rag. But the dryer lint catcher does a good job.

This is all I know -- sometimes when I washed cat beds I would have to run an empty cycle to get all the cat hair out of the machine so we wouldn't have cat hair towels or something like that. I don't know about the dryer. I don't remember having a problem with hair inside the dryer. I would still have a lot of hair to take out of the dryer vent. I don't think I ever put anything hairy in the dryer without washing it first. Interesting. I have put pillows in the dryer to get dust out or for some reason. Didn't seem like it did much.

I can attest to the fact that yes dirt, hair, fabric softeners do build up inside a dryer. We were selling a very good name brand set of washer and dryer and I simply could not let anyone else see our 'dirt'. Scrubbing the outside of the machines wasn't enough for me, so of course I had to take off the holder for the lint trap. Checking the gasket that was underneath the it, we found actual sandy, black dirt and pet hairs (2 dogs, one cat over the years). It was dried on hard. Also, something at one time had gone through the pockets in the wash and survived getting to our new dryer. It stuck to the tumbling blades inside the dryer, right where the blade and the drum are attached. Over time, things have also attached themselves to it. So yes, dirt can be released inside the dryer.

the top may have animal hair on it but that doesn't mean its dirty, or even had an animal on it. Their hair flies thru the air and gets onto everything. My animals don't come into my sewing room but I still find hair there. It gets caught up in the filter and the vent. I have a front loader and I'd worry more about the pump getting clogged than the dryer. I do agree that I would never put muddy wet clothes in there, but that's different.

You do realize all of these could have human dried skin on them. If anyone is worried, then after you run the dryer, run a damp towel in it, that should remove anything that can't be seen or sticking to the inside of the drum.

Well, I have not had a dryer in 30 years nor a pet but I've enjoyed the thread.