Did you know that every year almost 15,000 residential fires are caused by clothes dryers? According to studies and even professional opinion on this dangerous issue, failing to clear fluff out from machines is the biggest reason for dryer-induced fires.
To avoid dryer fires, it is very crucial to understand that cleaning your dryer’s lint trap is if not the best, a preventive measure to counteract this worrisome problem. However, many people fail to examine their dryer vent in addition to the machine itself.
All About Dryer Vents
Your wet garments produce humid, hot air when you begin the process of drying a ton of clothes. Your dryer vent’s function is to direct all of that airflow externally — meaning to say; that the air should be flowing out of your house in this process. The system is straightforward. Failure to keep your home’s vent clean and free of obstructions, on the other hand, might have serious implications.
Cleaning Your Dryer Vent Should Be A No-Brainer
The designed dust catcher in your dryer is really your first most line of protection against fire hazards. Even if you wipe the filter after each load, your dryer outlet could become clogged with dust, lowering the performance of your dryer and posing a major fire threat. If you are worried, here are some kits to clean your dryer vent you can use for a more thorough clean!
Fortunately, regular maintenance can keep your dryer from pushing too hard or causing trouble to begin with. The information below will explain to you why it is absolutely crucial for you to regularly clean out your dryer vents.
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It Helps You Save Household-related Bills
Dryers consume more energy than almost any other equipment in the house. Clearing out your dryer outlet can lead to significant savings on both power and gas costs by increasing the dryer’s efficiency in drying clothes.
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Keeps Your Clothes From Being Damaged
Inaccurate cycles and prolonged drying times can result in moist or burned clothes due to clogged vents. To assist your dryer in the process of drying your huge pile of laundry correctly, clean out the vent as often as possible to minimize any clothing damage and save money on buying new clothes to replace the damaged ones.
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Keeps Fire Hazards At Bay
During the winter, dryer fires are more prevalent. You should seriously c Consider cleaning your dryer’s filters on a periodic basis to identify whether your machine is running as safely as possible throughout the year.
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Maintains The Durability Of Your Dryer
The average lifetime of a dryer is approximately fifteen years. Check the hoses and clean the lint catcher, heat source, and vent duct to maximize the life of the machine. Not only will you be able to identify any issues with your dryer sooner and be more able to fix the problem quicker, but you also end up saving a lot more time, frustration, and money by simply cleaning out your dryer vent!
Identifying Clogged Dryers
Dryer fires are caused by clogged vents, which cost a lot of money in the destruction of property each year. Do you understand what comes after your dryer vent becomes plugged up?
Warning Signs
To begin with, your dryer is hot to the touch. Also, pay attention to whether your clothing is drying much slower than usual. When drying clothes, it’s also a good idea to keep an eye on whether your room that is designed to do laundry grows hot or damp. Furthermore, discovering lint in, behind, or anywhere around your machine is another symptom that it is clogged. Finally, the lint screen in your dryer that is overflowing quicker than usual should also be a telltale sign to clean out your dryer vents.
How Often To Clean Your Dryer Vents
You need to clean your dryer exhaust a minimum of once a year, according to studies and experts in the area. However, based on your specific circumstances, it may even be necessary to do it every few months.
The number of individuals who live in your home, where your outlet is placed, the number of times you use your dryer, and if you are housing any pets all influence the number of times you should be cleaning your dryer exhaust system. Increased fuzz and clothes imply more fluff to clear on a fundamental level.
What Causes A Build-up Of Lint
Bad Ductwork
Poor materials and extensive, intricate hoses provide more areas for lint to collect. For dryer exhaust systems, Plastic tubing and collapsible metalized foil tubing are not recommended. Instead, whenever practical, use solid steel ducts with a clear route to the outer vent.
As a supplementary fire prevention tip, make absolutely sure your dryer vent pipe is made of steel or foil rather than polyethylene while you’re inspecting materials. When a gas dryer’s polyethylene hose is torn while being cleaned, dangerous and poisonous gases can leak while the dryer is working.
How To Clean It Up
To begin, turn off the dryer. Disconnect the appliance from the source of electricity whenever you’re working on it. Before you begin cleaning, unplug the equipment or turn it off at the electrical panel. Move the dryer outward after that.
Make sure you have adequate space to get to the dryer vent. Place the dryer far further away from the hose as possible. After that, disconnect the dryer vent pipe. Disconnect any clips or screws holding the pipe to the dryer or the wall. Depending on the extensiveness of the pipe and whether it leads near or far from you, this process may potentially be challenging.
Clean the humidity detectors after that. Using a cotton bud and cleaning alcohol, clean the detectors within your dryer. When you clear the dryer exhaust or when the sessions become unproductive, repeat the process. Clean the pipe later on. Remove lint through both ends of the tube with a vacuum. Then, with the brush included in your cleaning kit, remove any stuck lint.
If required, keep a wire hanger handy to snake out debris. Just make sure the hose isn’t damaged in the process. The hose should then be reconnected. Replace the hose and any clamps or screws that were removed. Return the dryer to its original position against the wall. Finally, clean the outside vent. Head outdoors to your home’s external vent once the hose is clear.
Conclusion
In summary, cleaning out your dryer vents may seem tedious and maybe even time-consuming, but you will be glad that you did it routinely as it brings more good than harm to you and even your family. Keep this list in mind the next time you suspect that your dryer is wonky or not operating as well as it should be!
