A century ago, you would have to wait the entire day for your laundry to dry and much longer during winter. Luckily, with the invention of a dryer, you can dry your clothes within 20 minutes.
A dryer is one of the most underappreciated household appliances.
You must properly maintain it, including cleaning its vent to ensure efficiency and your household’s safety.
Most dryer manufacturers recommend cleaning your vent at least once or twice annually, depending on the frequency of use.
While knowing how frequently you should clean your dryer’s vent is crucial, it is also essential to understand how and why cleaning it is vital.
- It is best to clean your dryer vent at least once or twice a year to remove dirt and lint build-up that may affect the dryer’s efficiency. While it may seem complex, cleaning a dryer vent involves a straightforward process you can easily follow without needing a professional’s help.
- Keeping the dryer vent clean helps prevent fire hazards, prevents mold development, reduces energy bills, increases the appliance’s drying time, and improves the dryer’s efficiency, extending its lifespan.
- You can tell that your dryer vent needs cleaning if clothes take longer to dry than usual, you notice a burning smell from the dryer or the clothes, the dryer and drum get too hot when the dryer is running, or the laundry room feels humid and excessively hot when the dryer is operational.
- To prevent lint and dirt from accumulating in your dryer vent, never use the dryer without a lint filter, always clean the lint filter after or before each load of laundry, regularly vacuum the lint screen and keep the area around the dryer clean and dust-free
This guide discusses how frequently you should clean your dryer’s vent. By the end of the article, you’ll understand why it’s essential to have a clean dryer vent and the indicators that your dryer vent needs cleaning. We’ll also provide a step-by-step process that you can follow to clean your dryer vent and how to keep your dryer vent clean.
Why Should You Clean Your Dryer Vent?
Before discussing how often you should clean your dryer’s vent, it is vital to understand why it’s essential to clean it. Ideally, the role of a dyer vent is to expel hot air and moisture that results from the drying cycle.
As the machine dries clothes, dust and microscopic fabrics, also called lint, are generated.
As the fan in the dryer pushes hot air and moisture into the vent, the lint trap filter removes most of the lint and dust from the air.
However, some lint and dust get past the filter and land in the vent. Over time, the lint and dust accumulate and clog the vent.
A clogged vent reduces the dryer’s efficiency and leads to other negative effects, which is why it is vital to clean your dryer vent.
Here are the reasons you should clean your dryer vent:
1. It Reduces Your Energy Bills
When the dryer vent is clogged, air and moisture will be blocked from coming through the vent.
Therefore, power usage by the dryer will increase as it tries to dry the clothes despite the accumulation of moist air inside the appliance.
By cleaning the dryer vent, you’ll ensure the dryer’s efficiency, hence reducing power consumption.
2. It Prevents the Chance of Mold Development
A clogged vent will obstruct the dryer’s efficiency in releasing moisture from the drying cycle. Hence the clothes will not dry completely.
This can lead to the growth of mold on the clothes. Eventually, it may result in a musty smell in the laundry room. Cleaning the vent will help prevent this from happening.
3. Reduce the Risk of Fire Breakout
Lint is highly flammable; when the vent is clogged, there is a high chance of it igniting and causing a fire. The dryer overheats when it can not expel the hot air from the drying cycle.
According to U.S. Fire Administration, 34% of the 2,900 dryer fires reported yearly result from failure to clean dryers and their vents.
The loss of life and destruction of property through dryer fires can be avoided by regularly cleaning the dryer vents.
4. Increases the Drying Time
Cleaning the dryer vent can significantly reduce the appliance’s drying time.
Drying a standard load of clothes should not take more than 45 minutes, but if the dryer vent is blocked, you may even have to take the clothes through a second drying cycle.
5. Helps Extend the Dryer’s Lifespan
Your dryer works twice as hard to dry your clothes when the vent is blocked by lint and dirt accumulation. This increases its wear and tear rate, thus reducing its lifespan.
Also, clogging restricts airflow, causing excessive heat, which can damage the dryer’s electrical components, such as the motor.
Cleaning the dryer’s vent regularly helps extend the dryer’s useful life by increasing its efficiency and, therefore, less wear and tear.
How Often Should You Clean Your Dryer Vent?
According to experts, if you have a residential dryer, it is best to clean your dryer vent once a year if you have an average family and every six months if you have a relatively bigger family.
If you have a commercial laundromat dryer, you can clean the vent once a year since, as much as they handle a considerable laundry load, the appliances are bigger and more powerful.
The frequency of cleaning the dryer vent can depend on the size of your family, the presence of pets, the type of laundry you often do, and the frequency with which you buy new clothes.
If you often wash heavy clothing such as blankets, then it’s likely that your dryer vent might clog fast.
However, it is best to clean the dryer vent immediately if you notice any of the indicators in the section below, regardless of the last time you cleaned it.
Indicators of a Dirty/Clogged Dryer Vent
Below are telltale signs that your dryer vent needs to be cleaned:
- The dryer and drum get too hot when the dryer is running.
- Clothes take longer to dry than usual.
- You notice a burning smell from the dryer or the clothes.
- The laundry room feels humid and excessively hot when the dryer is operational.
- The hood flap on the vent’s outlet doesn’t open properly.
- It’s been a year since the dryer vent was last inspected.
How To Clean a Dryer Vent
While you can hire a professional to clean your dryer vent, it is a task that you can handle by yourself, requiring only a little help to move the dryer.
Here is a step-by-step guide you can use:
1. Gather the Necessary Cleaning Supplies
The first step is obtaining a dryer vent cleaning kit that usually contains necks, brushes, or vacuum attachments that can penetrate the vent to remove lint and dirt.
The kits are readily available at home improvement stores or even online. Additionally, you’ll need a vacuum with a hose attachment, broom and dustpan, power drill, and duct tape.
2. Locate and Inspect the Dryer Vent
It would be best if you located the dryer vent indoors and outdoors.
Once you find it, remove any visible obstructions, such as leaves, stones, animal wastes, and soil, that may obstruct the unrestricted airflow from the dryer.
However, this is only possible if the vent is near the ground and not on several stories.
3. Disconnect the Dryer
Next, you need to pull the dryer away from the wall, unplug it and turn off the gas valve if gas-powered. After that, disconnect the dryer duct at the back of the dryer.
4. Vacuum the Lint
Use a hose attachment on your vacuum cleaner to suction lint around the vent’s entrance. Also, poke the insides of the vent with the hose attachment to suck up what you can.
You can repeat this step on the outside vent if you have a hand-held vacuum. In addition, use your hands to remove any possible debris from the outside duct.
5. Use a Power Drill and a Brush
At this point, you’ll need to grab your dryer vent cleaning tool kit with flexible rods to connect to get to the inner parts of the vent.
Consider taping the rods together using duct tape to ensure they don’t come apart. At the end of the rods, attach the rotating brush that is usually part of the dryer vent cleaning kit.
After that, connect the end of the rods to a power drill and turn it on. Carefully push the brush head as far back in the vent as possible.
Push and pull the drill slowly, ensuring it’s spinning on medium power and in a clockwise direction to prevent the attachments from disassembling.
The lint and debris will start spilling from the dryer onto the floor. If the vent is near the ground, try threading the brush from the outside duct to ensure you cover the entire vent.
6. Clean Up the Mess
You probably have a lot of lint and debris on the floor. Use a broom and dustpan to clean out the mess. Alternatively, consider using a vacuum cleaner.
Use soapy water to clean any wet residue left after removing the lint.
7. Reconnect the Appliance
The dryer vent is clean, and you can reconnect the duct back into the dryer vent and plug the dryer into the power source. If gas-powered, ensure you turn the gas valve back on.
How To Prevent Dryer Vent Clogging
Consider doing the following to reduce the lint and dirt accumulation in the dryer vent:
- Never use the dryer without a lint filter.
- Always clean the lint filter after or before each load of laundry.
- Allow 15 minutes between loads for the dryer to cool.
- Install rigid or flexible metal venting material instead of aluminum foil vent to allow proper airflow.
- Regularly vacuum the lint screen.
- Keep the area around the dryer clean and dust-free.
- Ensure there are no obstructions near the exit of the vent to allow enough space for it to expel hot air from the dryer.
Conclusion
If you use it frequently, you must clean your dryer vent at least once or twice a year. This will help extend the dryer’s lifespan and protect your family and property against the fire risk caused by a clogged dryer vent.
While you can bring in a professional to clean the dryer vent, it is a straightforward task you can handle by yourself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Clogged Dryer Vent Cause a Fire?
Yes. Lint is highly flammable, and when it accumulates inside a dryer vent, it can ignite due to lack of free flow of air which causes the dryer to overheat.
How Can I Tell That My Dryer Vent Needs Cleaning?
You can tell that your dryer vent needs cleaning if the following:
- Clothes take longer to dry than usual.
- You notice a burning smell from the dryer or the clothes.
- The dryer and drum get too hot when the dryer is running.
- The laundry room feels humid and excessively hot when the dryer is operational.
How Long Does Cleaning a Dryer Vent Take, and Can I Do It Myself?
Cleaning a residential dryer vent can take approximately an hour and involves a straightforward process you can accomplish yourself.
However, cleaning a commercial dryer vent can take longer as it involves a more complex process.
