Nov. 24, 2006

By HELOISE
King Features Syndicate

Dear Readers:

Aren't clothes dryers wonderful? They make laundry day a lot easier.

Here are some helpful hints to get the best use from your dryer and save on your energy bill, too.

• Clean the dryer's lint screen after or before each load. This keeps the air flowing through the dryer.

• Dry full loads. Drying only a couple of things wastes money. But don't overload or stuff the dryer, either.

• If you are doing several loads of laundry, empty the dryer and add the next load right away so that the heated dryer is put to optimal use. Dry heavy items first, lighter ones last.

• Don't put wet clothes with partially dried items. And remove items as soon as they're dried to prevent wrinkling.

• Don't run your dryer when you're not home. There are thousands of home fires every year caused by dryers, many when someone left for just a minute. You don't want to take a chance