How To Clean Out Dryer Vent Pipe

The clothes dryer is institute in near every home. We employ it weekly if non daily. Its principal purpose is to take the heat and moisture out of your clothes. If clothing is still clammy at the end of a typical drying cycle or drying requires longer times than normal, this may be a sign that the lint screen or the frazzle duct is blocked.

If you are wondering why this article is so long … proceed reading! There is much more to information technology than meets the eye and you lot can potentially have a house fire if you are non enlightened of how to clean your dryer vent thoroughly!

Nope, that is not what we are talking about. Cleaning the outside dryer vent is non the same as cleaning the lint catch or screen within the dryer.

"The dryer vent is an exhaust piping that vents hot air to the outside. Vents can go long distances and are generally installed with bends. The bends create places where lint tin collect, and birds tin nest. It of import to go on the vent make clean and properly maintained," said Rebecca, owner, Arizona Chimney & Air Ducts, a Rosie-Certified Partner.

A dingy and full dryer vent can crusade:

• Appliance Inefficiency – Because the dryer volition run longer than necessary.
• Wear and Tear – A dryer taking twice equally long to dry clothes will cut its lifetime in half and lead to expensive repairs.
• Carbon Monoxide – Gas dryers that are non exhausting correctly tin cause carbon monoxide in the home.
• Obstructions – Nests, dryer sheets, and pieces of clothes tangles with lint blocks the vent.

Come on baby, don't light a burn

The nearly serious result of not keeping the dryer vent clean is Fire and Holding Damage. A muddy dryer and/or vent can ignite as a result of overheating and overworked safety controls.

(Arizona Chimney and Air Ducts Photograph)

According to the U.S. Fire Administration:

• 2,900 home clothes dryer fires are reported each year and cause an estimated 5 deaths, 100 injuries, and $35 million in holding loss.
• Failure to make clean the dryer (34 per centum) is the leading cause of habitation clothes dryer fires.
• More domicile clothes dryer fires occur in the autumn and winter months, peaking in January.

Make clean dryer = Clean apparel

"A proper annual dryer vent cleaning should include a visual inspection to make sure it is visibly sound," said Rebecca.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission's safe written report, Overheated Clothes Dryers Can Cause Fires, recommends to "cheque the dryer vent and exhaust vent periodically to ensure that exhaust air is completely escaping."

How to make clean a dryer vent

"Every vent is installed differently. It can depend on the length of the vent, how many turns and how often the dryer is used every week," said Rebecca.

If you utilize a professional dryer vent cleaning service, there are several dissimilar applications depending on how your dryer is situated.

"The virtually common technique is with the help of the blower motor and flexible extension rods with a bristle castor on the terminate. The rods hands navigate several 90 degree turns in your vent line," said Rebecca.

This is on a rotor system, and then the spin activity of the brush really gives the vent a thorough cleaning. The technician volition move the rod/brush in and out repeatedly until the vent is clear of lint and obstructions.

The virtually common way is done from the outside which keeps your home spotless. This is an extremely effective method to requite your dryer vent a clearer passage for the moist hot air to motion through.

If yous are going to make clean the vent yourself, the Consumer Protection Safety Committee recommends the post-obit steps:

Step ane — Clean the lint screen/filter before or later on drying each load of wearing apparel.

Step 2 — Clean the dryer vent and exhaust duct periodically. Check the outside dryer vent while the dryer is operating to make sure frazzle air is escaping. If it is non, the vent or the frazzle duct may be blocked. To remove a blockage in the exhaust path, information technology may exist necessary to disconnect the exhaust duct from the dryer. Think to reconnect the ducting to the dryer and exterior vent earlier using the dryer again.

(Arizona Chimney and Air Ducts Photograph)

Step iii — Clean behind the dryer, where lint can build up. Have a qualified service person clean the interior of the dryer chassis periodically to minimize the amount of lint accumulation. Proceed the area effectually the dryer clean and free of clutter.

Pace 4 — Supplant plastic or foil, piano accordion-type ducting material with a rigid or corrugated semi-rigid metal duct. Nearly manufacturers specify the apply of a rigid or corrugated semi-rigid metal duct, which provides maximum airflow. Metallic flex ducting is a must as flexible plastic or foil type duct can more easily trap lint and are more susceptible to kinks or crushing, which can greatly reduce the airflow.

Step 5– Brand dryer vent cleaning a regular part of your home maintenance!

Oily clothes are a gamble

Accept special care when drying wearing apparel that have been soiled with volatile chemicals such as gasoline, cooking oils, cleaning agents, or finishing oils and stains.

If possible, wash the clothing more than than once to minimize the amount of volatile chemicals on the clothes and, preferably, hang the clothes to dry out. If using a dryer, use the lowest heat setting and a drying cycle that has a cool-down catamenia at the end of the cycle.

To prevent clothes from igniting after drying, practise not get out the dried wearing apparel in the dryer or piled in a laundry basket.

Rosie'southward Rubber Tip: Do not get out your house while the dryer is running. A fire could hands ignite in the few minutes you are away from home.

Arizona Chimney & Air Ducts specializes in chimney, dryer vent and air duct cleaning. A family owned and operated company, they accept served the Phoenix metro expanse since 1985. A Rosie on the House Certified Partner since 2009, Arizona Chimney & Air Ducts, is also associated and affiliated with some of the most trusted names in the industry, including National Chimney Sweep Guild and the National Fire Protection Association. We have Team members with the CSIA Certification past the Chimney Safety Institute of America and National Fireplace Institute of Gas Hearth Appliances along with the EPA Universal technician Certification.

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