A Tennessee woman's innocent misunderstanding about dryer maintenance turned into a viral sensation and a surprising fire safety lesson when her family uncovered two years' worth of lint buildup in her dryer. The unexpected discovery has since garnered more than 7.8 million TikTok views, leaving the internet in stitches.
The saga began during Christmas breakfast in Scott County, Tennessee, when 22-year-old Delaney Neal casually complained that her dryer required three full cycles to dry her clothes. Her brother-in-law, Rane Bradley, raised an eyebrow and asked, “Have you cleaned out your lint trap in a while?” Delaney, completely baffled, replied, “What are you talking about?” she told People.
Determined to solve the mystery, Delaney’s family, including her sister, Kailey Bradley, trekked to Delaney’s house after breakfast to investigate. What they found behind her dryer left everyone in shock—and hysterics. “We couldn’t believe my sister’s house hadn’t caught fire with the amount of lint in her dryer,” Kailey, 31, told People. “The amount shown in the video isn’t even half of what came out of the back of it.”
Kailey, who was quick to document the cleanup, whipped out her phone to capture the "lint-mageddon" and posted the footage to TikTok, thinking it would amuse a few friends. Instead, the video exploded online, with comments ranging from incredulous to downright hilarious. One person joked, “Here’s me thinking it will start on fire if I miss emptying it one single time 😂,” while another quipped, “As a large loss claims adjuster who handles fire claims, I’m surprised we haven’t met.”
The viral fame caught the sisters off guard. “I called my sister at first and said, ‘Guess what? 800 people have seen your video!’” Kailey told People. “She was amazed. Now, almost 8 million people have seen it, and we’re in complete shock. At first, the rude comments bothered me, but then we decided, ‘We don’t even know these people—who cares?’”
Reflecting on the incident, Kailey admitted that such mishaps are par for the course in their family. “We are in a family of four sisters, we are pretty ditzy, and stuff like this happens all the time,” she told People. “Thankfully we have praying parents.”
Delaney, who learned the hard way about dryer maintenance, has since cleared out all the lint and vowed to keep her lint trap clean. Kailey hopes their experience serves as a cautionary tale for others. “You too can prevent dryer fires by checking your lint trap regularly,” she told People.
In a family Kailey lovingly describes as “pretty ditzy,” this fiasco is just another chapter in their quirky adventures. And with millions laughing along, it’s proof that even a pile of lint can make for an unforgettable holiday memory.