Is there a cheat or a mod that will disable the lint fires automatically?

No, these are families I am not playing so I can't control them. I didn't realize they dryers could be upgraded that way though. That's a useful piece of information. I guess I'll send one of my handy sims to visit and while there he can go and upgrade those other households' machines. Shame we don't have working sprinklers like in Sims 3.