IEC TS 63576:2025

Evaluation methods for protection against risk of fire in electric tumble dryers

IEC TS 63576:2025 provides guidance on test methods to mitigate the risks of fire that are particular to electric tumble dryers.

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 10-Apr-2025
• ICS: 13.120 - Domestic safety
• ICS: 97.060 - Laundry appliances
• Technical Committee: TC 61 - Safety of household and similar electrical appliances
• Current Stage: PPUB - Publication issued
• Start Date: 11-Apr-2025
• Completion Date: 16-May-2025

Overview

IEC TS 63576:2025 - "Evaluation methods for protection against risk of fire in electric tumble dryers" - provides guidance on test methods to mitigate fire risks that are specific to electric tumble dryers. The Technical Specification addresses hazards from lint/fluff accumulation inside the enclosure and defines reproducible test conditions to evaluate whether flames can propagate out of the appliance. Its aim is to support safer product design, laboratory testing and conformity assessment for tumble dryer fire safety.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Scope and objective: Tests focus on preventing fire spread from accumulated lint or fluff inside the dryer enclosure.
• Primary requirement: There shall be no risk of fire spreading out of the appliance due to lint/fluff accumulation.
• Cheesecloth test media: Uses specified cheesecloth (approximately 34 g/m, thread count ~10–13 × 9–12 threads/cm) that is conditioned for a minimum of 24 h at 15 °C–35 °C and 45 %–75 % relative humidity.
• Internal placement:
  • Bottom internal surfaces and top surfaces of electrical components, wiring and heating-element enclosures within 150 mm of the bottom are covered by eight layers of cheesecloth.
  • Layers must conform to component shapes, avoid moving parts and ventilation openings, and have minimum dimensions (no layer dimension < 25 mm when covering components).
  • Narrow 25 mm (±3 mm) strips can be used to connect cheesecloth sections to assist flame propagation for test reproducibility.
• External coverage: A single layer of cheesecloth covers the top, sides, front and back external surfaces and a single piece is placed beneath the appliance.
• Ignition and test procedure: Internal cheesecloth is ignited near electrical components using an electrically operated match, lighter or other suitable means; re‑ignition up to five attempts may be used to ensure complete burning.
• Special cases:
  • Heat pump tumble dryers containing flammable refrigerants must have the refrigerant removed and the system filled with helium or nitrogen at rated pressure before testing to avoid explosion risk.
  • Vented-type dryers are tested with exhaust duct systems defined in normative Annex A.
• Test environment: Test room capabilities and ventilation requirements are described in informative Annex B to ensure combustion products are safely discharged and oxygen levels remain adequate.

Applications and users

Who uses IEC TS 63576:

• Appliance manufacturers (design validation and safety testing)
• Accredited test laboratories and certification bodies (type testing, conformity assessment)
• Product safety engineers and regulatory agencies (risk assessment and standards compliance)
• Standards committees and product development teams refining lint-management and fire-mitigation features

Practical uses:

• Validate lint-management design changes (lint traps, seals, internal layout)
• Verify safety of electric and heat-pump tumble dryers with respect to fire propagation
• Support documentation for regulatory approvals and third‑party certification

Related standards

• IEC 60335-1:2020 - Household and similar electrical appliances - General requirements
• IEC 60335-2-11:2024 - Particular requirements for tumble dryers
• ISO 817 - Refrigerants - Designation and safety classification

Keywords: IEC TS 63576, tumble dryer fire safety, lint accumulation, cheesecloth test, test methods, vented-type tumble dryer, heat pump tumble dryer, flammable refrigerant.

Standards Content (Sample)

IEC TS 63576 ®
Edition 1.0 2025-04
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATION
Evaluation methods for protection against risk of fire in electric tumble dryers

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IEC TS 63576 ®
Edition 1.0 2025-04
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATION
Evaluation methods for protection against risk of fire in electric tumble dryers

INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
ICS 13.120; 97.060 ISBN 978-2-8327-0357-1

– 2 – IEC TS 63576:2025 © IEC 2025
CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 3
INTRODUCTION . 5
1 Scope . 6
2 Normative references . 6
3 Terms, definitions, symbols and abbreviated terms . 6
3.1 Terms and definitions . 6
4 Test method . 7
Annex A (normative) Nominal and standard exhaust duct for vented-type tumble dryer
testing . 9
A.1 Nominal exhaust duct for tumble dryer testing . 9
A.2 Standard exhaust duct for vented-type tumble dryer testing . 9
Annex B (informative) Capability and features of the test room . 12
Bibliography . 13

Figure A.1 – Pressure/volumetric air flow curve . 9
Figure A.2 – Standard exhaust duct . 10
Figure A.3 – Standard exhaust simulator . 11

INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
EVALUATION METHODS FOR PROTECTION AGAINST RISK OF FIRE IN
ELECTRIC TUMBLE DRYERS
FOREWORD
1) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising
all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of IEC is to promote international
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IEC TS 63576 has been prepared by IEC Technical Committee 61: Safety of household and
similar electrical appliances. It is a Technical Specification.
The text of this Technical Specification is based on the following documents:
Draft Report on voting
61/7385/DTS 61/7426/RVDTS
Full information on the voting for its approval can be found in the report on voting indicated in
the above table.
The language used for the development of this Technical Specification is English.

– 4 – IEC TS 63576:2025 © IEC 2025
This document was drafted in accordance with ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2, and developed in
accordance with ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1 and ISO/IEC Directives, IEC Supplement, available
at www.iec.ch/members_experts/refdocs. The main document types developed by IEC are
described in greater detail at www.iec.ch/publications.
The following print types are used:
– requirements: in roman type;
– test specifications: in italic type;
– notes: in small roman type.
Words in bold in the text are defined in Clause 3. When a definition concerns an adjective, the
adjective and the associated noun are also in bold.
The committee has decided that the contents of this document will remain unchanged until the
stability date indicated on the IEC website under webstore.iec.ch in the data related to the
specific document. At this date, the document will be
• reconfirmed,
• withdrawn, or
• revised.
INTRODUCTION
Electric tumble dryers are prone to the accumulation of lint within the electrical enclosure of the
appliance. Since a tumble dryer is normally not airtight, fabric fibres can pass through small air
gaps during operation. These fibres that escape the air flow path end up as accumulated lint in
the bottom sections of the enclosure. Although tumble dryers are generally designed to
minimize this, it is difficult to eliminate it completely.
The accumulated lint within the enclosure provides an additional fuel source that can increase
the severity of hazards caused by electric component faults as well as abnormal overheating
conditions. TC 61 has expressed the need to develop this Technical Specification to provide
additional evaluation methods to determine the safety of electric tumble dryers with respect to
the accumulation of lint within the enclosure.

– 6 – IEC TS 63576:2025 © IEC 2025
EVALUATION METHODS FOR PROTECTION AGAINST RISK OF FIRE IN
ELECTRIC TUMBLE DRYERS
1 Scope
This document provides guidance on test methods to mitigate the risks of fire that are particular
to electric tumble dryers.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies.
For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any
amendments) applies.
IEC 60335-1:2020, Household and similar electrical appliances – Safety – Part 1: General
requirements
IEC 60335-2-11:2024, Household and similar electrical appliances – Safety – Part 2-11:
Particular requirements for tumble dryers
ISO 817, Refrigerants – Designation and safety classification
3 Terms, definitions, symbols and abbreviated terms
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following
addresses:
• IEC Electropedia: available at https://www.electropedia.org/
• ISO Online browsing platform: available at https://www.iso.org/obp
3.1 Terms and definitions
3.1.1
tumble dryer
appliance in which textile material is dried by tumbling in a rotating drum through which heated
air is blown
3.1.2
heat pump
...