When was the last time you had your clothing dryer vents cleaned? Sure, you clear the lint screen after each load of clothing or linens you dry, but the majority of your lint makes it past that trap, gathering within your dryer vents. Because of the hazard clogged dryer vents pose, the National Fire Protection Association recommends that homeowners have their dryer vents cleaned at least once per year. If you regularly wash and dry high volumes of laundry, you might even need to have your dryer vents cleaned more frequently.
What are the hazards of dirty dryer vents?
There are two main reasons your dryer vents need to be cleaned regularly: the risk of fires and the risk of a buildup of carbon monoxide poisoning. When lint clogs your dryer vents, it causes the heat from your dryer to build up within the dryer vents. That excess heat can ignite the highly flammable lint and spark a major house fire. Dryer vent fires cause more than 15,000 home fires, resulting in 15 deaths, each year, according to the U.S. Fire Administration’s National Fire Data Center. It is estimated that 80 percent of those fires could have been prevented.
Just like heat can’t escape through dirty dryer vents, the carbon dioxide created by combustion in your dryer can’t escape through the vents either. That can force carbon dioxide back into your home, where it can accumulate to dangerous levels. Those high levels of carbon monoxide put you, your family & your pets at a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
How can you tell if your dryer vents need to be cleaned?
If you are skeptical about whether your dryer vents need to be cleaned, you might want to evaluate the performance of your dryer. There are some ways your dryer will let you know whether your vents are clogged, inhibiting the performance of your dryer and putting your home at risk of a fire or a buildup of carbon monoxide. Signs your dryer might be giving you include:
An increase in drying time. If the dryer isn’t venting properly, loads of clothes will take longer to dry.- An overheated laundry room or clothes that are hot to touch. If heat can’t escape the dryer vents, it will back up into the dryer and into the laundry room, resulting in an unusually warm laundry room and loads of clothing that feel hotter than normal when they come out of the dryer.
- A strong smell of dryer sheets or fabric softener in the laundry room.
- An accumulation of lint around the dryer vent or within the dryer itself.
- A burning smell within the dryer.
Who can I call to clean my dryer vents?
At Fluesbrothers, we provide top-of-the-line dryer vent cleaning services! We use specialized brushes to loosen dryer lint from the vents and blowers to clear all of the lint out of the vents. We also will inspect your vents to make sure they are safe and free of damage or blockages that could compromise function or safety. If your dryer is showing signs that vents need to be cleaned, or if you can’t remember the last time your dryer vents were cleaned, call Fluesbrothers to schedule an appointment today!
