Dryer Vent Cleaning in Athens, AL
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Step 1 of 3: Equipment
Cold vents turn dryer lint into a wall of buildup
Winter nights in Athens average 33°F from December through February, and that cold reaches the vent running through your wall. The air coming off your dryer is warm and full of moisture. When it hits the cold walls of that vent, it cools fast, and the moisture in it turns to damp. Lint sticks to damp metal a lot better than it slides through dry metal.
That buildup narrows the vent a little more with every load. Airflow drops, the dryer takes longer to get clothes dry, and the motor and heating element work harder to push air through a smaller opening.
- 33°F
- the average winter night, and cold vents catch damp lint
- 7 months
- October through April, the vent stays cold
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NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- How often should a dryer vent be cleaned?
- Once a year is the general rule. Lint builds up little by little with every load, even if you empty the trap each time, and it collects in the parts of the vent you cannot see. A yearly cleaning keeps that buildup from turning into a blockage.
- Can I clean my dryer vent myself?
- You can clear lint from the first few feet on either end, but most of the vent runs through the wall and out to a hood you cannot reach from inside the laundry room. A vacuum hose alone will not pull lint through the bends in that run. A contractor uses a brush and rod system built to clean the full length of the vent, including the hood outside where lint tends to build up unseen.
- What are the signs of a clogged dryer vent?
- Clothes that take more than one cycle to dry, a dryer that runs hot to the touch on the outside, and a burnt smell during the cycle all point to a blocked vent. Lint gathered around the outside hood or a hood flap that will not open when the dryer runs are signs too. Any of these means air is not moving through the vent the way it should, and that trapped lint is what causes dryer fires.