Prevent a Home Fire By Having Your Dryer Vents Cleaned Regularly
Do you think cleaning lint from your dryer means cleaning the lint trap? That’s what most people think. The dryer vents in your dryer and your home also accumulate lint. Lint inside dryer vents can be a fire hazard and can reduce a dryer’s efficiency. Annual cleaning and/or inspection of these vents is recommended. Disconnecting the dryer hose from the dryer is necessary to get to the dryer vents for cleaning and inspection. A professional dryer duct cleaner is commonly needed for this. A professional may be needed if you cannot reach all of the dryer vents.
Regularly cleaning or at least inspection is recommended however there are some indications that your vents need to be cleaned. If you are unsure you should consult a professional dryer vent cleaner.
Ways to tell your dryer vents need to be cleaned:
- Your clothes begin taking more time than normal to dry
- Your clothes are hotter than usual at the end of a drying cycle
- The flapper on your exterior dryer vent doesn’t open when the dryer is on
It is important to keep your dryer vents clean for various reasons. Lint is quite flammable, particularly if the clothes have been soiled with flammable materials such as gas, motor oil, cooking oil, wood stains, etc. Heat can accumulate in dryer vents if the airflow is restricted which can cause lint to ignite. Lint build up in dryer vents restricts air flow resulting in your dryer to be less efficient. The tumbling action of dryers is hard on clothes so when your dryer runs longer to dry your clothes they are subjected to extra wear and tear.
There are steps you can take to minimize the chance that your dryer ducts become restricted by lint.
- Rigid metal duct work is less prone to lint accumulation so replace plastic or foil duct work with rigid or semi rigid metal duct work.
- Clean or replace the flexible tube between the wall and your dyer regularly
- Always use a lint trap
- Clean the lint trap before every load of laundry.
- Wash your lint trap occasionally with soap and water to remove fabric softener
- The flap on the outside dryer vent should open and shut freely
General dryer maintenance:
- Have your dryer inspected regularly. The gas line and all connections for gas dryers should be checked for leaks
- Make sure your dryer is properly grounded
- Do not over fill your dryer
- Combustible chemicals should not be store near your dryer
- Do not store flammable items such as boxes or clothing near your dryer
- Operate your dryer only when you are home
- Dryer ducts should be at least 4 inches in diameter
