Dryer Vent Cleaning in Albertville, AL
Tell us about your home, and a licensed contractor who covers Marshall County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Step 1 of 3: Equipment
Cold vents catch more lint
Every load pushes warm, damp air out through the vent. Once that air hits the cold part of the run, it cools fast, and the moisture in it turns to dampness on the vent walls. Lint sticks to a damp wall far more than it does to a dry one, so the buildup packs in tighter.
On a winter night here, that vent run can sit near 34°F for hours. A vent that is narrowing with packed lint makes the dryer push harder to force air out, and it takes longer to dry a load. A vent that is fully blocked can back up hot air and lint into the space around it.
- 34°F
- the average winter night, and cold vents catch damp lint
- 7 months
- October through April, the vent stays cold
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- How often should a dryer vent be cleaned?
- Most households need it done once a year. If you dry big loads often, or the duct run from the dryer to the outside wall or roof is long, check it more often than that. Lint builds up along the inside of the vent every time you run a load, and it collects fastest at the bends. A contractor can tell you, once they see the run, whether your setup needs cleaning more than once a year.
- Can I clean my dryer vent myself?
- You can clean the part you can reach, but not the whole vent. Pull the dryer out, disconnect the duct, and clear out what you find with a vacuum and a long brush. The rest of the run, behind the wall or up through the roof, is where lint collects at every bend, and that part is out of reach without the right equipment. A contractor uses a rod system built to reach the full length and clear it out, not just the first few feet.
- What are the signs of a clogged dryer vent?
- Clothes that take more than one cycle to dry is the biggest sign. Others are a dryer that runs hotter than usual, a burning smell, or the outside vent hood flap barely moving when the dryer runs. Lint around the lint trap door or the outside vent opening is another sign. Any of these means air isn't moving through the duct the way it should, and it's worth having someone check the full run.