Don’t risk a dryer fire: clean your ducts as soon as possible
One of the largest A dirty dryer vent is a fire hazard in your homebut even if clogged dryer ducts don’t immediately cause damage to the household, they are a waste of your time, energy, and money. If your dryer once polished wet loads in one cycle or less but now needs two or even three, check your ductwork. Chances are it’s not your dryer that’s faulty, but rather the dirty vent that’s the problem. A dryer that’s connected to vents filled with lint, dust, and dirt won’t work properly either, so keeping it clean can do wonders and help you save on energy bills while you do your laundry.
According to a recent CNET Money survey, rising energy bills have put a strain on 78% of American adults surveyed, so this is an activity you may want to tackle sooner rather than later.
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Step 1: Find your channel
To properly clean your dryer’s ventilation system, you first need to know where it is located and where it ends. At the back of most drying units there is a short outlet with a diameter of 4 inches. This exhaust is connected via a special channel in the wall aluminum elbow or other pipe. Hot air travels along these metal pipes to eventually exit through an opening in an exterior wall of your home.
In my particular setup, the dryer exhaust joined a duct at the base of a wall in my laundry room. Located in the basement, from there it runs to a vent on the ground floor and a few feet to the right of my front door. Covering the existence is a plastic cover with slats. It opens to allow warm air to escape, but otherwise remains closed to keep animals out.
Step 2: Safely disconnect the dryer
Now that you know the start and end points of your duct, it’s time to unplug the dryer. It’s a simple task if you own an electric dryer. First unplug the device from the wall socket. Then, remove any metal tape or clamps securing the dryer vent pipe to the exhaust. If it’s easier, you may want to remove just the material that secures the vent to the duct in the wall.
Carefully pull the vent tube away from the wall duct. If your dryer is electric, you should be able to push the unit out of the way without any problems. This creates more space to work.
Homeowners with natural gas dryers should be more careful. Be careful not to disturb the dryer’s gas line too much if you need to move the appliance. Like gas stoves, the fuel connection usually consists of a flexible steel hose. The hose should be securely attached, but it’s best to play it safe. Gas leaks are a serious and dangerous matter. If at any point you are unsure, call a professional.
Step 3: Clean, clean, clean
At this point you should have clear access to the dryer duct opening on the laundry room wall. You can also easily access the exit outside the house by removing the duct valve or duct cover. Next you need to buy a specialized dryer venting set. I picked this up at my local Home Depot for $19. It consists of a lint brush and six flexible segments of 60 cm long. You join these parts together to form a bar that spans a whopping 12 feet.
In my case, I purchased an additional unit that both doubles the reach and provides a spare brush head for safe keeping. The end of this handy device also fits into standard drill chucks. Armed like this, you can spin the brush with a good amount of speed and force.
Insert the brush end of the wand into your canal. I decided to enter from the outside of the house because that is the highest point. The idea was to use gravity as a tool to clear stuck debris. It’s also easier to collect lint from my laundry room floor than from my mulched flower garden.
While rotating the wand (counterclockwise to avoid unscrewing the segments), push the brush through the canal as far as it will go. Hopefully you have enough length to reach the other end of the canal. Please note that the process may take a few tries depending on the number of bends in your ductwork.
Step 4: Clean up, reconnect everything
If your dryer vent is anything like mine, expect a lot of fluff pouring out of the wall. The amount of mess on the laundry room floor brought my vacuum cleaner to its knees. I ended up having to clean the vacuum twice to get it working again. In retrospect, I recommend using a simple broom and dustpan.
Once everything is cleaned up, put everything back the way it was – with one exception. If your dryer used a soft foil style vent to connect to the wall duct, remove it. These hoses pose a known fire risk. I personally replaced the original semi-rigid vent with a pair of 90 degree aluminum elbows. Adjustable yet hard, they are durable and provide the best airflow period.
Step 5: Take it for a test drive and smile
No doubt about it. Give your dryer duct a thorough deep cleaning cleaning is sweaty, messy work. Two years of duct neglect was all it took to effectively cripple my old dryer. However, a quick test drive after cleaning confirmed that the device had regained all its power. Not only would I not have to buy an expensive new unit, I would also put the kibosh on the risk of a terrifying dryer fire. That is a valuable job.