Homeowners are being warned of the fire risks from tumble dryers.
Aviva says it's witnessing a spike in claims, with some cases of clothes spontaneously going on fire two to six hours after being taken out of the machine.
Users are being advised to only put the dryer on when someone is in the house, make sure they've a working smoke alarm, and to make sure the build-up of lint is removed regularly.
Aviva says tumble dryers can pose a serious fire hazard when not used or maintained properly either in the home or on a business premises.
It says forensic investigation reports from fire claims found "the cause of the fires was as a direct result of non-compliance with the safety guidelines around their usage".
Gillian Devereux, Senior Loss Adjustor at Aviva, said "given the wintry conditions that we have experienced in Ireland in recent months, with heavy rain and storms, it is reasonable to assume that the frequency of use of tumble dryers has increased in both homes and businesses.
"Unfortunately tumble dryers can pose a serious fire risk if they are not used correctly. Issues can arise where users wash clothes in lower temperatures to reduce energy costs as oil or grease residues may still be on the clothes when the washing cycle completes.
"The risk is then heightened when users remove the clothes from the tumble dryers without allowing the cool down cycle, to further reduce energy costs. The hot clothes that still contain oil residues can very quickly ignite, causing significant fire damage".
