Dryer Vent Cleaning Tips

Drying time could increase and the dryer might overheat when the dryer vents filled with lint and other fragments. Energy consumption increases since the dryer would have to run longer to dry clothes. This can also cause fires in the dryer duct or the dryer itself.

When to clean your dryer vent?
A dryer vent that has not been cleaned in the past year or two, then cleaning it is needed. When your dryer is running longer than the usual, you may need to clean the dryer vent. If the dryer vents are short and straight, it can be cleaned easily by the owner. Other dryer vents are not that easy to clean and may need special tools and equipment. Most repair companies do the job with special tools.

Why do we need to clean dryer vents?
By cleaning dryer vents, it protects your homes from smokes, pollutants, and fires. Your dryer vents would efficiently run. The cost of operation energy would significantly reduce. The dryer vents would last longer. Lastly, the clothes would dry faster.

Dryer Vent Mistakes
1. If the dryer vent has many bends or dryer vents that are too long do not use a duct booster as it would result to lint build-up. Shorter and straighter the duct, better for dryer vents.
2. Using flammable, foil duct extenders, and flimsy plastic is wrong. Metal vents are the ones that should be used, most manufacturers specify this. As metal vents resist crushing, it allows lint and air to be carried out of the system. Build-up caused by reduced airflow may be the source of overheating and it wears out the appliance faster.
3. Clearance space is inadequate between the wall and the dryer. Most owners tend to put the dryer right against the wall, thus, crushing the venting material. Reduced airflow and the build-up of lint result in the cumulative effect of the dryer to prevent it from drying in a normal speed. Because of this, the safety switch for high temperature limit cycle would go on and off to control the heater. Other high temperature limit safety switches were not designed to go on and off continuously, so they fail over a period of time.
4. The failure to clean the dryer duct.

Things you will need in cleaning
1. Screwdriver
2. Nut Driver
3. Trash basket or bag
4. Plumbing Snake or dowel (optional)

How to clean dryer vent?
1. Unplug the dryer vent (it may be gas or electric).
2. Turn off the gas (if the dryer is a gas dryer).
3. Just to the extension of the vent, pull the dryer out (it is just about 1 ½ to 2 feet)
4. Loosen the 4" clamp, the vent clamp, found on the back of the dryer, using a screwdriver or a nut.
5. The vent should slide off the dryer easily.
6. Pull out any lint and build-up as you reach to the hole on the back of the dryer. Pull out the lint from where you reached on the back of the vent. The lint would build up at the ends mostly. If there is a case that you find a large lint build-up in the middle, plumbing snake can be used to pull it out. If the path is straight, coat hanger or dowel can extend your reach.
7. Slide the clamp back, you should reattach the vent, then tighten the clamp, and slide the dryer back.
8. The vent should be removed outside the house. The vent might be caulking around the cover, also in its screws. You can use a razor knife to cut the caulk. The cover will slide out the vent; the sleeve is about a foot long.
9. Reach and clean the lint out, reaching as far as your arm will go.
10. Inspect the vent and check if you missed anything. Use a plumber snake or other tool if you cannot reach it.
11. Turn the unit’s plug in and the gas back on.
12. Fluff the dryer with air for 10 minutes.
13. Inspect the outside of the vent for any barrier then you should reattach the outside vent.

Tips on cleaning
If the dryer vent is too long and have several bends, you can add a rubber hose adapter that fits on an end of a leaf blower and the vent piece that sticks out of the wall, and also buy some hose clamps. Fasten tightly everything then turn the leaf blower on; surprisingly, lint would come out even after you clean it.

You can also remove the bottom front panel of the vent while you are cleaning it and clean it, too. Devices are available to clean an entire tube. However, you will not need it except on worst case scenario.