Who Has Their Dryer Vents Cleaned?


by James Beyer - Date: 2010-08-04 - Word Count: 605 Share This!

Dryer vent cleaning is a simple task but an activity that not enough consumers do or do not do often enough. Dryer vent cleaning can often be carried out by the homeowner but the location of the dryer ducts, length of the dryer hoses and similar variables frequently a trained dryer vent technician is needed. If your dryer is located close an outside wall of your house, the dryer vent may be short enough such that the homeowner can reach all of it so you can clean it adequately with a vacuum or brush. In other situations utilizing a professional is likely required.

Anyone that is familiar with a clothes dryer knows that a remarkable volume of lint is produced by a dryer and the lint trap required cleaning (the amount of this stuff always shocks me. Depending on the type of fabric being dried, the lint trap commonly ought to be cleaned after every load of clothes. A clean lint trap means better air flow for the dryer and allows it operate with greater efficiently.

The lint trap doesn't capture all the lint. Some lint travels through the dryer air vent and released outside of your house but a certain amount of lint will get trapped in the dryer duct work, particularly in a flexible dryer hose that have ridges and in corners and bends in the ductwork as it works its way to the exterior vent. The the greater the length of duct work the better chance of lint not making it all the way to the outside of your house as the forced air from your dryer deceases the further it travels.

A shocking number of home fires are caused every year by dryer hoses that become obstructed by lint. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) studies have shown that more than of 15,000 home fires annually are linked to clothes dryers with excessive lint accumulation being suspected in many of these fires. Lint is highly flammable and if dryer ducts becomes restricted and are not able to adequately release hot air from the dryer heat build up can occur and ignite the lint.

To minimize the chance of fires, the CPSC recommends the following:
• Clean the lint trap after every load of laundry.
• Cleaning the dryer vent and all ductwork regularly (this generally requires disconnecting the dryer from the dryer hose).
• Inspect the outside dryer vent of your house while the dryer is on to be sure exhaust air is escaping. If it is not, the vent or the duct work might be blocked. Clean behind the dryer, where lint can build up. Have a qualified service person clean the inside of the dryer housing occasionally to reduce the quantity of lint accumulation. Keep the area around the dryer clean and free of household items.
• Replace accordion type duct material with rigid or corrugated semi-rigid metal ducting. Many manufacturers recommend rigid or corrugated semi-rigid metal ducts since they provide far better airflow. Flexible plastic or foil ducts trap more lint and are susceptible to kinks and crushing, which reduces airflow.
• Be extra careful when drying fabric that has been exposed to flammable chemicals such as gasoline, cooking oils, cleaning agents or wood finishing oils and stains. If clothes have been exposed to flammable chemicals consider washing them more than once to reduce the amount of the chemicals remaining on or in the clothes and, preferably, hang dry these items. Choose the lowest heat setting and a drying cycle that incorporates a cool-down period at the end of the drying cycle. Additionally, don't leave the dried items in the dryer or piled in a laundry basket.

Related Tags: dryer vent cleaning, dryer duct cleaning, dryer hose, drer lint, dryer fire

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