There have been a series of home appliance fires, across the country, and all have one commonality - they began when the dryer lint screen over-heated and set itself ablaze!  Many people forget to check the screens, and sometimes must put more money into coin-op machines, also, as improper venting causes the clothes to not properly dry.  Fire is certainly the greater hazard, and unsuspecting consumers will swear that they have cleaned the lintscreen, but fail to notice that the miniscule weave of the screen may still hold lint. 

     Try this:  hold your dryer's lintscreen under a slow-running water faucet.  If the water readily flows through, then your screen is fine.  If, however, it does not drain quickly, it is because the screen is at least partially blocked by potentially flammable material, and combined with the heat from your dryer, it could ignite.  Stay safe, stay dry - but clean your screen!