• MotoAsh@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      Yes, but you seem to be forgetting that we’re talking about the difference between room temperature and melting plastic. That’s hundreds of degrees F. Even twenty degrees makes a substantial difference for drying water.

      It’s fully within reason to expect a dryer to be less hot than melting plastic unless it’s a gas dryer. Even then, many clothes are literally made of plastic. Nylon? Radon? Plastic. It’s totally reasonable to expect a dryer to not melt typical kinds of clothes. (though at least nylon’s melting point is significantly higher than some other kinds of plastic)

      • Tlaloc_Temporal@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        1 year ago

        And you’re forgetting that water needs huge amounts of heat to evaporate. The heat capacity of plastic is rather small in comparison, so a machine capable of quickly vaporizing water also has the power to melt crappy thin plastic.

        Modern dryers usually have a safety thermostat, but lint buildup is still a big fire hazard, so there are obviously temperatures in significant excess of boiling here.