# Dryer lint to start fire



## Wine Chick (Dec 30, 2011)

I've been reading articles and some people are saying to store dryer lint in a ziploc bag, put it in your car console in case you need it to start a fire if your stranded. I'm wondering if you need to add anything to it to get it to spark? :?:


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## survival (Sep 26, 2011)

No, you do not have to add anything to dryer lint to start a fire. It is very volatile when it comes to starting fires. A single spark from a flint/steel will create a blaze with it. The research that you have been reading is good. Keep a ziploc bag of it in your car, one in your bug out bag (3 day bag) in case you get caught in the rain without a match or lighter. Great idea!


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## ZillaMonster (Dec 31, 2011)

I have a little baggy in my car with two flnts also. Simple and I'll always have fire this way.


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## DiscountMylarBags (Jan 30, 2012)

I kept a ton of dryer lint at one point...until I realized my wife sheds like a shetland pony. (My fault for asking her to keep her hair long!) Mmm...burnt hair is not my firestarting device of choice.=)


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## acidlittle (Jan 24, 2012)

You can also use a knife and drag it across your jeans, i'll produce little "lint" like fuzzies that catch really well.


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## gitnready4it (Jan 27, 2012)

Great idea! You could roll it in a ball with petroleum jelly instead of cotton. Should burn for a long time.


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## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

If any of my brothers and sisters here run out of lint, call me immediately. My wife got a new washer and dryer and I swear I can rebuild the lamb that sacrificed his wool! At first I thought it was just good basic Wisconsin accoutrements. But this lint has the feel and smell of a deep Canadian port!

We're survivalists, we can even smuggle lint. It's cold in a secret tent location...


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

Lint fires in dryer vents are more common than you'd think.


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## ND_ponyexpress_ (Mar 20, 2016)

I made a bunch of fire starters by packing the lint into empty toilet parer rolls.


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

I can't find it in the woods.

Go car camping and make a few fires.....


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## Notold63 (Sep 18, 2016)

ND_ponyexpress_ said:


> I made a bunch of fire starters by packing the lint into empty toilet parer rolls.


I did the same and then wrapped it in wax paper.


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## 1skrewsloose (Jun 3, 2013)

If your in a pinch, belly button lint works too.


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## Go2ndAmend (Apr 5, 2013)

That’s a great idea. It got really heavy with the dryer strapped to my pack. It is so much easier to just put the lint in a ziplock


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

1skrewsloose said:


> If your in a pinch, belly button lint works too.


Pocket lint.


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## Sasquatch (Dec 12, 2014)

1skrewsloose said:


> If your in a pinch, belly button lint works too.


If you have a blade or something with an edge you can scrape your jeans and that stuff works well.


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

can somebody give me a real world scenario for when dryer lint might be needed to start a fire


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## Robie (Jun 2, 2016)

Maine-Marine said:


> can somebody give me a real world scenario for when dryer lint might be needed to start a fire


Yup.

If you are in a situation where you need/have to start a fire and don't have a lighter, matches or any other form of instant flame, but you do have a ferro rod and a steel knife or flint and steel knife....the lint will take a spark quite well, giving you an actual flame to get the rest of the kindling going.

There are plenty of things that can be used in nature but if things are wet, it can be tough to get a spark to take. Some dryer lint with a little vaseline works well if kept dry.

I go a little overboard and probably have 4-5 different things that can be used for tinder; dryer lint being one of them.


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## rstanek (Nov 9, 2012)

Maine-Marine said:


> can somebody give me a real world scenario for when dryer lint might be needed to start a fire


We put dryer lint in paper egg cartons and add melted candle wax , good for starting a wood stove fire and campfires, we shop rummage sales for old candles. It's one way to recycle and it leaves no waste except a little ash......


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## ND_ponyexpress_ (Mar 20, 2016)

rstanek said:


> We put dryer lint in paper egg cartons and add melted candle wax , good for starting a wood stove fire and campfires, we shop rummage sales for old candles. It's one way to recycle and it leaves no waste except a little ash......


a jute string wick works with these as well...


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## ND_ponyexpress_ (Mar 20, 2016)

Maine-Marine said:


> can somebody give me a real world scenario for when dryer lint might be needed to start a fire


it's tinder.... that everyone throws away... why not use it? toss a starter under the charcoal and light with a match..


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

Maine-Marine said:


> can somebody give me a real world scenario for when dryer lint might be needed to start a fire


When your ex gets the house in the judgement, so you decide to burn it down after you get all your shit out of it.


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## Sasquatch (Dec 12, 2014)

Maine-Marine said:


> can somebody give me a real world scenario for when dryer lint might be needed to start a fire


I use it to start campfires but I also carry it in my bob for the same reason.

I take tea candles and melt the wax out of them. Then put Dyer lint and saw dust in the candle tin and refill with wax. Makes great little fire starters.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


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## paulag1955 (Dec 15, 2019)

survival said:


> No, you do not have to add anything to dryer lint to start a fire. It is very volatile when it comes to starting fires. A single spark from a flint/steel will create a blaze with it. The research that you have been reading is good. Keep a ziploc bag of it in your car, one in your bug out bag (3 day bag) in case you get caught in the rain without a match or lighter. Great idea!


Is this true even for synthetic lint? Polyester, for example, doesn't burn with a flame. It generally just melts.


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

paulag1955 said:


> Is this true even for synthetic lint? Polyester, for example, doesn't burn with a flame. It generally just melts.


Do synthetics create dryer lint?


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## Robie (Jun 2, 2016)




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## JustAnotherNut (Feb 27, 2017)

Maine-Marine said:


> can somebody give me a real world scenario for when dryer lint might be needed to start a fire


Woodstove is our only source of heat and newspaper isn't as easy to find as it used to be with everything online.


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## JustAnotherNut (Feb 27, 2017)

Robie said:


>


I've not had the problems he did, with lint burning.


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## Robie (Jun 2, 2016)

I thought it started right up for him on the first strike.


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## paulag1955 (Dec 15, 2019)

Back Pack Hack said:


> Do synthetics create dryer lint?


Oh, you betcha. Haven't you ever washed and dried polar fleece?


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

Why bother with lint when you can use cotton balls impregnated with petroleum jelly? That cotton ball can burn for like 4 minutes, giving you ample time to get the fire going. This is a good article. As the article states, they are even waterproof. Put one in a glass of water, spread out the fibers some & it will light.

https://www.ramblinjim.com/articles/using-vaseline-cotton-balls-as-a-fire-starter/


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## hawgrider (Oct 24, 2014)

******* said:


> Why bother with lint when you can use cotton balls impregnated with petroleum jelly? That cotton ball can burn for like 4 minutes, giving you ample time to get the fire going. This is a good article. As the article states, they are even waterproof. Put one in a glass of water, spread out the fibers some & it will light.
> 
> https://www.ramblinjim.com/articles/using-vaseline-cotton-balls-as-a-fire-starter/


Couple years ago I did some work bench testing and then field testing with dryer lint and cotton balls. I found the dryer lint not so good as compared to cotton balls. A cotton ball would take the spark from a flint every time where the dryer lint was hit and miss depending on what clothes were dried.

I personally do not use Vaseline on my cotton balls as it was messy and I found a dry cotton ball lit my tinder bundles very nicely without the Vaseline.

I also found in my testing that char cloth had more value then dryer lint as well. Just my observations on my own testing.


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

hawgrider said:


> I personally do not use Vaseline on my cotton balls as it was messy and I found a dry cotton ball lit my tinder bundles very nicely without the Vaseline.


I agree the Vaseline is messy but for me, it is worth it. The Vaseline extends the burn time greatly and it is waterproof. I figure if I really need to get a fire started then probably the conditions would be cold & wet. The available wood could likely be damp and hard to get going. I keep a bag of the impregnated cotton balls in my truck. Also keep extra cotton balls & a jar of Vaseline. I'm a big fan of the Gerber Bear Grylls Fire Starter as it has a waterproof storage compartment, where I keep the cotton balls.


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## Robie (Jun 2, 2016)

I use this method.

I sat around a couple of nights and made up a whole bunch with different things inside the straws...

I keep them in Altoid containers.


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

Robie said:


> I use this method.
> 
> I sat around a couple of nights and made up a whole bunch with different things inside the straws...
> 
> I keep them in Altoid containers.


I don't understand going thru all the trouble of sealing it in a straw. Vaseline has no water or alcohol and it doesn't evaporate. They will light even when wet. I store mine in zip lock baggies. Seems like you could just put them directly in the Altoid container?


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## hawgrider (Oct 24, 2014)

******* said:


> I agree the Vaseline is messy but for me, it is worth it. The Vaseline extends the burn time greatly and it is waterproof. I figure if I really need to get a fire started then probably the conditions would be cold & wet. The available wood could likely be damp and hard to get going. I keep a bag of the impregnated cotton balls in my truck. Also keep extra cotton balls & a jar of Vaseline. I'm a big fan of the Gerber Bear Grylls Fire Starter as it has a waterproof storage compartment, where I keep the cotton balls.


It can be wet for days in Mi. and I still don't have issue collecting tinder dry enough to lite. We have an abundance of pine with lower dead branches that are always fairly dry. And then there is birch bark. I also always have char cloth. Your results may vary being in another state.


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## paulag1955 (Dec 15, 2019)

hawgrider said:


> Couple years ago I did some work bench testing and then field testing with dryer lint and cotton balls. I found the dryer lint not so good as compared to cotton balls. A cotton ball would take the spark from a flint every time where the dryer lint was hit and miss depending on what clothes were dried.
> 
> I personally do not use Vaseline on my cotton balls as it was messy and I found a dry cotton ball lit my tinder bundles very nicely without the Vaseline.
> 
> I also found in my testing that char cloth had more value then dryer lint as well. Just my observations on my own testing.


This is because synthetic fibers melt rather than burn.


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## paulag1955 (Dec 15, 2019)

******* said:


> I agree the Vaseline is messy but for me, it is worth it. The Vaseline extends the burn time greatly and it is waterproof. I figure if I really need to get a fire started then probably the conditions would be cold & wet. The available wood could likely be damp and hard to get going. I keep a bag of the impregnated cotton balls in my truck. Also keep extra cotton balls & a jar of Vaseline. I'm a big fan of the Gerber Bear Grylls Fire Starter as it has a waterproof storage compartment, where I keep the cotton balls.


I like my Blast Match. It's all one piece and completely foolproof; even I can use it and get a spark every time.


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## Robie (Jun 2, 2016)

******* said:


> I don't understand going thru all the trouble of sealing it in a straw. Vaseline has no water or alcohol and it doesn't evaporate. They will light even when wet. I store mine in zip lock baggies. Seems like you could just put them directly in the Altoid container?


Too much time on my hands I guess.


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## Old SF Guy (Dec 15, 2013)

Awww Shucky Ducky.....my favorite topic and a fact that I fear most of all. No sh!t, there I was in Somalia with a buddy and as I opened my ruck, my bag of dryer lint fell out. My buddy says "what is that?" I tell him and he laughed.... your in the desert, why do you need a fire? Water purification...cooking camels....dingos....somalie pirates...whatever I retort.

He says...thats stupid.... I open the bag...take my little sparker...and start a fire in like 2 seconds... then I say...fat ass I can live six months of your left leg..... 

silence.....utter silence..... then he says...hey... lets go to the chow hall for dinner.

I say....uhhhhh....ok...I'm willing to walk a bit....


PS...my fear is that my wife never empties the lint trap....


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