As one year ends and another begins, you will probably take a look over your house to find various cleaning and improvement projects. One that you may not have thought of, but which is a critical job to have done on a regular basis, is dryer vent cleaning.
What is dryer vent cleaning?
The dryer vent is the hose and outdoor vent that removes heat and moisture from a household clothes dryer. The vent can be located in a variety of locations, such as on the roof (as the one in the picture at the top of this post).
The dryer vent will start to collect lint from fabric as it runs. Each time you clean out the lint filter when a load is done in the dryer, you’ll get an idea of what type of debris might be going out the dryer vent. As lint starts to catch onto the walls of the hose and vent, it will lead to even more lint building up. Eventually, the dryer vent will become heavily congested. This will make the dryer inefficient and make it harder for you to get your clothes dry in a single wash cycle. Trained service technicians will use professional equipment to clean the dryer vent and clear out the lint so the dryer will work best again.
Dryer vent cleaning is a safety precaution
There’s another vital reason to have dryer vent cleaning done aside from getting the dryer to work its best. A clogged dryer vent is a potential fire hazard that can lead to a house fire. The lint that collects inside the vent is highly flammable, which is a reason that campers often take lint with them to start campfires. The rise in temperature in the dryer hose can cause the lint to catch fire, and it can rapidly spread to the rest of the house.
According to the U.S. Fire Administration, 29,000 home clothes dryer fires are reported each year, causing a hundred injuries and over $35 million in property loss. The number one cause of these fires is failure to clean the dryer. The majority of these fires occur in fall and winter, peaking in January. We’re just about to enter the peak time for fires, so if you have a dryer that’s overdue for its vent cleaning, now is the time to arrange for it.
The U.S. Fire Administration recommends having “your dryer cleaned regularly by a professional, especially if it is taking longer than normal for clothes to dry.” Other signs to watch for are a rise in your energy bills and the outside of the dryer growing hotter than normal, indicating extra heat trapped inside because of the clogged vent.
To schedule your dryer vent cleaning in Fresno, CA this winter, contact us. We’re experienced with many ventilation services, and we can make dryer vent cleaning part of duct cleaning if your home is overdue for that service. We’ll help keep your house safe and energy efficient!
Purl’s Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning: Quality Is the Cornerstone of Our Success Since 1962.