What do dryer vent cleaners do

If you ever notice a burning stench in your laundry room, this is another indication you should get cleaning sooner rather than later. Experts recommend you clean out your dryer ducts twice a year. Doing so on your own might sound like an intimidating prospect but there are ways to do it easily, cheaply and relatively quickly. An electric dryer will have a grounded volt electrical outlet. The plug will also be larger than your standard plug, containing either three or four prongs.

A gas-powered dryer, on the other hand, plugs into your standard volt three prong outlet and will also connect to a gas valve. Dryers are usually connected to a short, 4-inch diameter exhaust pipe that then connects to ductwork inside a wall. Hot air from your dryer is pushed through this pipe and escapes through a vent on the outside wall of your home. Wash any screens and clear out any noticeable obstructions. Be sure to apply a gentle pressure when pulling the vent pipe from the wall duct, so as not to break the pipe.

By now you should be able to get a clear look inside your dryer vent from inside your laundry room or nook. Use the hose attachment of a vacuum cleaner or shop vac to suck up any lint in or around the hole. Otherwise, try to clear debris manually from outside. The dirtier it is, the harder it has to work to do its job.

This could cause it to burn out or need maintenance much sooner than it should. And a hard-working dryer makes your energy bill go up. Because when a dirty dryer works harder, it sucks up more energy. Cleaning out your vents can make your bill go back down. You can. Some companies specialize in cleaning out vents. These professionals have all the right tools, all the right training, and several years of experience cleaning out dryer vents already. At Fresh Aire Duct Cleaning, we even offer video camera inspections to ensure that your ducts are cleaned thoroughly and efficiently.

While you can do a good job cleaning your dryer vents on your own from time to time, when it comes to a major cleaning, you should always hire a professional. They will then slide along, tube-like vacuum and snake brush the vent into the vent to dislodge and remove any debris. If there are any blockages stuck to the walls of the vents, the professional will use the snake brush to scrape them away.

The areas of your vents that will get the most attention are the bends and elbows. These places buildup debris faster than other parts of the vent, so they will take special care to make sure anything inside is vacuumed out. Sometimes, professionals will also conduct a diagnostic test after the dryer vent cleaning.

This test will find out how much pressure goes through the vent, how much gas makes it into your home, and finds out if there are any damages inside the vent. So, if you want to save as much energy as possible, you need to clean out your dryer vent. A cleared dryer vent will allow exhausted air to travel freely, placing no undue strain upon the dryer itself and requiring no additional energy.

There's no telling just how much money vent cleaning will save you on your energy bills. Make note, however, that it's almost sure to be greater than what you'll spend on a professional dryer cleaning. As was noted above, the dirtier a dryer vent is, the harder its adjoining dryer has to work. The harder a dryer has to work, the more wear and tear it will suffer.

In order for your dryer to run optimally, you should have your dryer vent cleaned at least once yearly.

If you have a larger-than-average household for example, more than 5 people , you might want to consider a cleaning every six to nine months. The more lint that a dryer vent collects, the less efficiently the dryer will run.

Sure, it will still get the job done, but it will take much more energy in order to do so. But it's not only wasting energy. It will take more time as well. In fact, in some cases, it could prevent clothes or bedding from being dried fully in a single cycle.

This may force you to monitor your dryer carefully and run it in quick succession—for if you fail to do so, your clothes and bedding may take on a musty odor and dingy appearance. Don't want to monitor your dryer for several hours straight? No problem. Just have your dryer vent cleaned instead, and you'll be able to forget about your wash load until the end of the day. Every time your clothing is thrown into the dryer, it loses a small fraction Link opens in a new tab of its quality.

This is because heat deteriorates the small fibers within the clothing, causing it to become stretched and worn. Now, there isn't much you can do to prevent this from happening short of foregoing a dryer entirely but there is something you can do to slow down the process.

Namely, you can clean your dryer vent on a regular basis. As was noted above, a dirty dryer vent makes for an inefficient dryer. An inefficient dryer has to run longer than an efficient dryer. So, when clothing gets thrown into an inefficient dryer, your clothes are subject to more wear and tear per drying session. In other words, they are meeting an early demise. The fix is simple. Just have your dryer vent cleaned. Your local handyman can help you with the task. One of the issues with a dirty dryer vent is that it traps water from wet clothing.

Once this water is trapped, it attracts all sorts of allergens Link opens in a new tab from mold to dust and much, much more. Unfortunately, over time, these allergens can spread to the rest of your home. Should you breathe them in, you could very well develop a cough, a rash, congestion, or another similar symptom. You don't want to live your life in an allergy den. Have your dryer vent cleaned entirely and you'll be able to breathe easy.

Do you use a gas dryer as opposed to an electrical one? If so, you have yet another reason to have your dryer vent cleaned: carbon monoxide poisoning Link opens in a new tab. Gas dryers produce carbon monoxide; given that they're attached to dryer vents, they're able to dispose of this carbon monoxide—unless, of course, those dryer vents are clogged. If the dryer vent is clogged, the carbon monoxide could back up into the dryer and be released into the home, creating a dangerous environment for everyone living there.

Carbon monoxide is not something you want to mess around with. In fact, it can be fatal. So, be sure to have that dryer vent cleaned every year or so. Your life could depend on it. We've discussed the advantages of professional dryer vent cleaning.

Now, you're probably wondering: how often should you have your dryer vent cleaned professionally? Generally speaking, it's wise to schedule a cleaning once a year. This is for a normal-sized household consisting of about two to five people. However, if your household is on the larger side or if you do a greater than average amount of laundry, you should think about increasing your cleaning schedule to every 6 to 9 months.

You'd be surprised at how much more laundry residue a few more family members can create. Looking for a company to come and clean your dryer vent? Here's how to go about finding one.