Dryer Vent and You

What we want to focus on in this tutorial is showing you how to remove dangerous lint build up in your dryer and dryer venting. Excessive lint build up occurs slowly and gradually. You don't realize it is happening. You think that by cleaning out the lint filter after each use you are doing your job and maintaining the dryer. Not quite!

A full load of wet clothes contains about a half gallon of water.Lint is created from the clothes as water is removed during the drying process. This lint will build up in crevices deep down inside the lint filter trap, and all along the dryer vent hose. At the end of the day, your dryer is the number 1 source of fire in the home.

In 1999 the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (USCPC) developed a report called the “Report on Electric and Gas Clothes Dryers.” In that report they determined that of the 15,000 fires studied in one year, electric dryers were over 2.5 times more likely to be the cause of the fire than gas dryers. Fires originated most frequently from two places: dryer venting and the lint trap.

What are the warning signs that dangerous lint build up is occurring in your dryer and venting system? Well, the symptoms may include:

• Clothes take longer and longer to dry;
• Clothes don't fully dry;
• Clothes are hotter than normal at the end of the drying cycle;
• The outside of dryer gets very hot;
• The outside exhaust vent flapper does not open very much indicating low exhaust velocity;

• Laundry room becomes more humid than it is usually;
• Burnt smell is evident in the laundry room.
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• Dryer Vent Cleaning Brush Kit
  To effectively clean your dryer and dryer vent hoses / venting system, you will need a special brush for this dryer repair. Vacuum attachments alone do not work as well because they do not agitate the lint to separate it from the duct and it is this physical agitation that is important.
  There are a few different dryer duct cleaning brush kits or tools out there, but I've found the best value to be a great little kit called the LintEater® Jr.

Remove the Lint Trap FilterThis is the step you are most familiar with and probably do on a regular basis such as after each load. As a matter of fact, this step is probably all you have ever done, just like 90% of the population. Although this step of cleaning the lint filter is important, it does not solve the problem of lint build up in the dryer or in the ducting. However it is important as a first line of defense and we need to do it, so:

• Remove the lint screen by pulling it straight out;
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• Clean the screen of any lint by gently brushing it with the fine bristled cleaning brush.

Vacuum Lint Trap Housing CavityOK, now we start getting to areas of the dryer where you're going to find all kinds of lint hidden away. The next area you want to clean is the lint trap housing cavity, the cavity from which you pulled the screen out. You'll need the long flexible fiberglass handle of the brush kit to get into this area.

• Extend the brush all the way into the bottom of the cavity;
• Using a gentle and slight twisting motion, pull out the brush to expose the clumps of lint it has removed;
• Using a household vacuum cleaner or shop vacuum, vacuum the brush head clean of any lint;
• Repeat this process until there is no more lint that can be removed from the cavity.

This can be a DIY project...but we recommend a professional inspect and clean. They have the tools and experience to do this right.

We recommend DUCTZ of West St. Louis