Using Drier Lint As Tinder

(Bergton, VA)

Lint from your dryer is great to start a cold start fire in the wood stove - it burns hotter and longer than newspaper or cardboard and I can use bigger kindling to start with. It is also easy to store and compact.

To heat up the house faster as well, I close down rooms furthest away from my wood stove and then as the rooms heat up, I open up one at a time, instead of trying to heat up an entire house all at once.

Thanks for this tip - I've heard of using drier lint before, but never actually got around to doing it myself. It was actually recommended on a bushcraft course I did last year as a piece of your survival kit. it is supposedly great for getting a fire going once you have established a tiny spark (eg using a fire bow).

As you say it is easy to collect and store - just get a jam jar to keep by the drier and pack it in each time you clean the lint trap. It compresses right down. Don't forget to have some nice dry kindling, split small, for it to get going.

Regarding closing internal doors - we've been doing this for years and it makes a huge difference. The doors to the upstairs bedrooms, the laundry and my dad's music room are all shut unless they are actually in use.

Opening a door for 20 minutes takes the chill off easily and saves trying to heat unnecessary space. This is especially useful if you find that your stove is undersized for the area you want to heat, or is not positioned centrally in your house.

All the best,

Mike