Dryer Nuggets

Balls of lint and (dog?) hair that developed inside the plastic paddles in our dryer. A few days ago our dryer began making some new rattling noises when running, so I took it apart to clean and repair† it. In the process I removed the plastic paddles from the inside of the drum, as I’d previously bobby pins stuck behind them, so I figured I’d clean them out as well. Pellets where they formed inside the dryer drum paddles. Inside of most compartments of the paddles were these gumball-sized formed pellets of lint and hair; a sort-of felted pom-poms. I find them fascinating — and a little bit gross — as they slowly built up over time from what’s otherwise just dust. (I imagine there’s some fabric softener and skin oil in there as well, functioning a binder to help hold it all together.) I can’t help but be reminded of “Stan’s Boogers” or “Stanimals” that build up inside of some tubeless bicycle tires as the solids in the sealant come out of suspension, stick together, and tumble around.…