Dryer Vent Cleaning in Millbrook, AL
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Cold air in the vent is what lets lint stick
Every load of laundry pushes warm, wet air out through the vent to the outside. On a Millbrook night in December, the metal in that vent runs close to the outside temperature, down around 37°F. The warm air hits those cold walls and cools fast, and the moisture in it settles out. Lint that would blow straight through a warm vent sticks to a wet one instead.
That buildup narrows the path the air has to take. A dryer working against a partly blocked vent runs hotter and takes longer to get clothes dry. The same cold nights that make this happen last five months here, November through March, so a vent that clogs early in the season is still clogged at the end of it if nothing is done about it.
- 37°F
- the average winter night, and cold vents catch damp lint
- 5 months
- November through March, the vent stays cold
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- How often should a dryer vent be cleaned?
- Once a year for most households, and more often if you're doing several loads a day. Lint builds up along the whole length of the duct, not just at the lint trap, and that buildup is what slows the dryer down and makes it run hotter than it should. A contractor can look at how the vent is routed in your house and tell you if yours needs it sooner.
- Can I clean my dryer vent myself?
- You can handle the part you can reach, which is the vent hood outside and a few feet of duct near the dryer. A vent brush kit will get you that far. What you can't clear from either end is a duct that runs any real distance through walls or under a floor, especially where it bends, and that's where lint actually collects.
- What are the signs of a clogged dryer vent?
- Clothes that take two cycles to dry when one used to be enough. The top of the dryer feels hot to the touch, or the laundry room heats up while it's running. You might notice less air coming out of the vent hood outside, or lint gathered around it instead of blowing clear. Any one of these means air isn't moving through the duct the way it should.