How to Clean Dryer Vents

11/28/2015 Back To Blog

What's worse than being threatened by your own dryer? Thankfully, this is not a silent threat! Dryers actually send out warnings when their vents are clogged. Do you know how to recognize the signs?

*   The cycle takes forever to finish and still the clothes are damp

*   The clothes do not dry well and come out very hot

*   There is a bad odor inside the laundry room and clothes might smell funny too

*   The laundry room is overheated

*   The dryer is overheated

Of course, some of these problems originate from the fact that some dryer vents are longer in size than they ought to be. Some of them might even travel through roofs and attics making air duct cleaning even more difficult and diminishing the capacities of the appliance. The shorter the dryer duct the better. The longer in size the longer the dryer will take to dry the clothes and the more you pay in energy consumption. Though, when you want to keep your mind for signs of clogged dryer ducts, you must see if there is something out of the ordinary. In this case, cleaning the dryer vent will be necessary.

Clean dryer ducts often

In fact, dryer vent cleaning is necessary at least once a year. If you use the dryer more than once a week, it's best to clean the vents once every six months. So, let's see how dryer vents are cleaned:

*   The appliance must be unplugged

*   Pull the dryer out so that you can have access to the vent

*   Loosen the screws or nuts securing the vents

*   Reach inside the hole and remove the lint built up

*   Use the vacuum cleaner to remove lint from the vent

*   A snake brush can be used to remove lint stuck at the duct walls

*   Pull back the dryer once you put the vent back in place. Make sure the vent is not squeezed, bent or crushed

Dryer duct cleaning is not over yet! The external part of the vents must be cleaned, too. Lint must be removed completely on this side of the vents as well. You just have to remove the cover of the vent and use a long brush or the vacuum to clean it. Before you close the cover, plug in the appliance and turn it on. Lint residue may fly off outside. When the final debris residue is removed, you can close the cover. Of course, if there is a lint trap in the appliance, you must remove lint every time you use it. This will save you from a lot of trouble, safety hazards and hassle. If vents are broken, cleaning them won't do any good. In this case, you will need dryer vent replacement.