How to Clean Your Dryer Vent
By: Francisco Guzman
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Are your clothes taking longer to dry than usual? Does it smell like something’s burning in the laundry room? Is the top of your dryer too hot to touch after you put in a load of laundry? If you answered yes to any of these questions, it’s time for a routine maintenance on your dryer vent. Warning signs like these are common indications of a dirty or clogged dryer that can potentially put your home at risk of a fire.
Local fire departments across the United States responded to nearly 14,000 fires involving dryers per year from 2014-2018. And about one-third of the fires were caused by dirty vents — those clogged with lint, dust and fiber. That’s why Russ Dimmitt, director of education at the Chimney Safety Institute of America, a nonprofit educational institute that trains and certifies chimney and dryer exhaust technicians, recommends getting your vent cleaned annually.
“If your clothes start taking longer to dry than they have been and progressively get longer and longer, that’s indicative that the vent is beginning to plug and you’re losing airflow,” Dimmitt says. “Airflow is an important part of the clothes drying properly.”
When was the last time you cleaned your dryer? If the answer is “a while” or “never,” here’s how to get started, according to Home Depot and Family Handyman.
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Once you’ve finished cleaning the vent, it’s time to put the dryer back together.
Note: Although you can clean your dryer vent yourself, Dimmitt always recommends hiring a professional. “They know other things to look for, like proper installation,” he says. Also, if the dryer vents outside through your roof, you may not want to scale a ladder to clean it.
For visual learners, here’s an informative step by step video on how to clean the vent.
Now that your dryer vent is clean, it’s time to keep it that way. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends you do the following to reduce the amount of lint in your vent.
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Cleaning your dryer vent not only protects your home from a potential house fire, but it can save you money on your energy bill. Once your vent is cleaned, the clothes will dry quicker!
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How to Clean Your Dryer Vent
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