Dryer Vent Cleaning: When, Why and How?

Your dryer vent allows the hot air from the dryer to pass out of doors, however, over time the vent dryer can become clogged with lint resulting in the clothes dryer working less efficiently taking much longer to dry a load of clothing and resulting in higher energy bills and possible fires.

All dryers have a lint filter that is designed to catch the lint that comes off the clothes, however, this filter can't catch all of the lint especially if the filter is not cleaned after each load of laundry. Any lint that gets passed the filter and gets trapped inside the crevices of the lint filter trap and the ductwork as well.

Signs Your Dryer Vent Needs Cleaning

Some signs warn you that your dryer vent needs to be cleaned. These signs include:

1. Your clothing is suddenly taking longer to dry forcing you to run your clothes through part or all of another cycle.
2. When you take the clothes out of the dryer your clothing feels hotter than normal.
3. The outside of the dryer is hot to the touch.
4. The humidity in your laundry room increases.
5. You Can Clean Your Dryer Vent Yourself, But Hire A Professional
6. The Internet has several articles on how to clean them yourself. However, since the ductwork needs to be taken apart for proper cleaning it is best to have a professional clean your dryer vents for you. Or you might try this handy vent cleaner device that hooks to your drill, and allow for the vent to not be taken apart.

Here is what dryer vent cleaning entails.

DIY options include a handy spinning cleaning tool that connects to your power drill to clean out the caked on lint.

The vent cleaning professional will either shut off the gas to your dryer or unplug the electricity to your dryer. They will need to pull your dryer out from the wall to perform a complete vent cleaning.

• The lint filter will be removed and cleaned. (This should be done after every load, but the vent cleaning professionals will at least check and make sure it is clean.) Once the lint trap filter is removed and cleaned the lint trap itself will be cleaned using a specially made dry vent brush. This brush is flexible and designed to reach clear to the bottom of the dryer trap.
• The ductwork then needs to be taken apart and each piece is cleaned using another special duct cleaning brush. This may require each section of the ductwork to be cleaned with a brush two or three times with the brush being cleaned of all lint between cleaning.
• The vent cleaner will then clean the flap at the end of the dryer vent to ensure it is free of dust and the vent is working properly.
• Once everything is properly cleaned the vent cleaning professional will reassemble the ductwork and put everything back in order.

How Often Should Your Dryer Vents Be Cleaned?

It is recommended that you clean or have your dryer vent cleaned at least once a year. However, if you have a large family and do a lot of laundry you may want to have your dryer vent 2 or 3 times a year.