Having worked as a Cosmetologist I certainly know how your hair dryer can start to emit an odor. How often have you turned on your hair dryer and had a strange odor? You may think to yourself, if I let it run for a while the smell will go away. You may after a few moments not even smell the odor because of the use of gel, mousse or hairspray. But the next time you turn it on, the odor will begin all over again.
What is it that you are smelling? Well it is actually mold spores that are building up in your hair dryer. You turn it on and then you are blowing them through the room and on your hair. You may then begin to sneeze or cough. And you either pass it off as dry air, a cold or allergies. You are partly right. Mold spores can cause allergies, sneezing and coughing, but they also cause a multitude of health problems.
You probably never thought that this could happen to a hair dryer. You probably think that the heat is killing bacteria, well you couldn't be more wrong. Mold spores and bacteria will grow in moist and warm conditions, and your hair dryer is definitely warm and moist due to wet hair, so it is the perfect habitat for their growth. Have you ever even cleaned your hair dryer? Most likely you have not. If you read the directions you would actually see that it does have to be cleaned. So how do you clean it? Here is a simple effective way to get rid of the odor causing bacteria hiding in your dryer:
- First, you need to remove the air intake, it is on the reverse side where the heat comes from. Be sure it is not plugged in.
- Take out the screen inside.
- Wash it in warm soapy water and you can use an old toothbrush to clean it.
- Rinse, pat dry.
- Use a Q-tip and dip it in alcohol and coat each side of the screen, doing this will kill any remaining germs.
- Let it dry thoroughly and replace the screen into the dryer.
- If there is hair stuck inside the dryer, use tweezers to remove the hair.
You should repeat this procedure at least once a month, depending on the use of your dryer. You certainly would want to be blowing mold spores into your hair or around the room.
