Clothes Dryer Vent Cleaning

Every year, more than 17,000 home fires are caused by dirty clothes dryer vents full of lint buildup. What a shame it is for so many people to lose their homes because of a problem that’s so easy to fix.

It’s incredible (and scary) that many homeowners don’t know that they need to clean the vent for their clothes dryers. But cleaning a dryer’s venting system isn’t just a good housekeeping item. It’s a must for maintaining the safety of your home and family.

Dryer lint is a very combustible substance that builds up in the venting system leading from your dryer, causing a severe fire hazard. The most commonly used vent is made with ribbed plastic to make it easier to route the hose around corners and through walls. This design traps lint in the hose, which builds up over time to dangerous levels. (The plastic of the hose itself is also combustible and produces dangerous fumes when burned.)

Aside from the fire hazard, dirty dryer vents also reduce the dryer’s efficiency. Dryers work by heating clothes to a temperature that causes the water to evaporate more quickly, and the vent system carries the water vapor away. A dirty vent system can’t carry as much water vapor, so it takes much longer to dry your clothes. This wastes both time and energy. You can save money by cleaning your dryer vent hose regularly.

How do I Know if my Dryer Vent Needs Cleaning?

You should immediately call a professional dryer vent cleaning company if any of the above telltale signs of a dirty dryer vent are present:

The dryer vent system hasn’t been cleaned within the past year.
Your clothing is still damp at the end of a laundry cycle.
It takes longer than it used to for your clothes to dry.
The clothes are hotter than usual at the end of the cycle.
The clothes dryer or its door is hotter to the touch than usual.
The flapper door on the outside vent hood doesn’t open or only partially.

How Do I Clean my Clothes Dryer Vent?

Unless you have the right equipment, then basically, you can’t do it yourself. Dryer vent hoses are usually flexible and ribbed and often take a lot of turns before they get to the vent hood outside your home. The ribs and all the turns cause lint to get caught inside the hose and build up.

Blowing air through the hose (or sucking it with a vacuum cleaner) won’t do any good: After all, there’s air moving through the hose, and the lint still builds up. Neither will grab the part of the hose that you can reach and shake it. That will only shake up a little lint so it can form an even more giant clog further down the hose.

The only way to properly clean a clothes dryer vent hose is with special tools just for that job. That’s why ALLGone services have invested in the only equipment that can snake through your dryer’s venting system to completely clean and unclog it, reducing the fire hazard and increasing the dryer’s efficiency to save energy.

High-Efficiency Clothes Dryer Vents

We also offer high-efficiency, energy-saving dryer vent closures. Unlike old-fashioned, inefficient, “flapper” type closures, high-efficiency closures reduce energy loss through the dryer venting system. They also keep birds, bugs, rodents, and other critters from nesting in or entering your home through the dryer vent.

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Clothes Dryer Recommendations

Clean the lint filter regularly, before and after each load.
Check the dryer regularly for proper operation.
While the dryer is operating, check the outside exhaust to ensure exhaust air is usually escaping.
Check exhaust ducts for knicks or any signs of crushing.
Use sheet metal vent pipes.
The exhaust pipe should be as short as possible and have a limited number of bends to facilitate airflow.
Place dryer near an outside wall using pop rivets, not screws, to connect metal vent pipe pieces.
Clean the lint out of the exhaust pipe once a year.
Ducts should be no longer than 25 feet.
Assure the rodent and bird screen protection is intact.
Dry only full loads of laundry
Use the cool-down cycle.
Don’t leave the house with the dryer on.