Dryer Vent Cleaning 101 — What You Need To Know
There are a lot of little things here and there that you have to do every year to keep your home in tip-top shape. But one thing you might be forgetting that’s incredibly important is dryer vent cleaning.
Dryer vent fires are quite common — more common than chimney fires. In fact, an average of 15,500 dryer vent fires occur annually, causing multiple deaths and hundreds of injuries. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) urge homeowners to invest in routine dryer vent cleanings to help reduce those numbers.
So make sure that when you think of home maintenance, you don’t leave out your dryer vent!
What Causes Dryer Vent Fires?
Dryer vent cleanings are important because they eliminate the #1 cause of dryer vent fires: lint.
Lint is highly flammable, that’s why the Boy Scouts of America use it as a fire starter. It can easily ignite as a result of the high heat used to dry your clothes.
Another reason lint should be removed is that, as it builds up inside of your vent, it limits air flow. With limited airflow, your dryer can get overworked, needing more heat and more time than normal to dry a single load of laundry.
What Are The Perks Of Cleaning Your Dryer Vent?
With a clean dryer vent, you won’t have to worry about a dryer fire in your home. But what are some of the other perks of having your dryer vent cleaned?
- Energy savings — Added cycles due to lint buildup, blockages, and airflow restrictions can lead to higher gas or electric bills. That’s wasted money! With a clean vent, you’ll know your dryer is working quickly and efficiently to dry your laundry. No more running back downstairs or upstairs to start yet another dry cycle.
- Longer life for your clothes dryer — A dryer that’s vented through a clean vent will always work more efficiently, drying clothes faster. And a dryer that doesn’t have to work as hard will always last longer than a dryer that’s lint-choked, overworked, and subjected to multiple cycles. In other words, simply having your dryer vent cleaned routinely can save you money in the long run, by keeping your clothes dryer in excellent working order.
- Carbon monoxide risk reduction — Gas dryers produce carbon monoxide, which is a toxic gas that is undetectable using your senses. While gas dryers can be completely safe if well maintained, when vents are riddled with lint or venting into attics, walls, or anywhere other than outside of the home, they can be deadly. Routine dryer vent cleanings and inspections will give you the peace of mind to use your gas dryer without worry.
Who Should Clean Your Dryer Vent?
You should always have your dryer vent cleaned by a Chimney Safety Institute of America Certified Dryer Exhaust Technician (CDET), so you can be confident in the quality and thoroughness of the job.
A CDET will be able to alert you to any buildup, blockages, venting route issues, or code issues. For example, if your connector is plastic and not up to current code. And no matter what the issue may be, with a CDET, you’ll know you’re in good hands.
What’s A Dryer Vent Cleaning Like? Is It Messy?
Dryer vent cleanings can be messy if they’re done by inexperienced or ill equipped teams. But with Ashbusters Chimney Service of Knoxville, you won’t have to worry about a mess. We do all the following:
- Move the dryer away from the wall and perform diagnostics to check for proper function and airflow.
- Attach a powerful vacuum to the vent that will blow any debris to the outside area we’ve set up.
- Use flexible rods that rotate and spin to safely loosen any lint so it can be blown out. Our rods are designed to be able to effectively remove lint from all lengths and routes of dryer vents, even those with 90 degree turns.
When we’re done, all lint will be removed from your vent and carried away from your property. No mess, no worries.
Call Ashbusters Of Knoxville For Effective, Mess-Free Dryer Vent Cleaning Services Today
Have questions about dryer vent cleaning, when it’s needed, or why it’s necessary? Ready to schedule a dryer vent cleaning for your Knoxville area home? We’re happy to help — simply call 865-470-6117 or request an appointment online today and our CDETs will take care of it for you.
If your chimney needs sweeping, our crews are experts with all chimney and dryer services and we’ll make sure the job is done right.