Dryer Vent Cleaning in Pell City, AL
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Step 1 of 3: Equipment
Cold nights turn dryer lint into a wall of buildup
Your dryer pushes out warm, damp air every load. On a night that averages 34°F, that air hits the cold walls of the vent and cools fast. The moisture in it turns to damp, and lint sticks to damp metal instead of blowing through to the outside.
Over a winter that runs November through March, that buildup narrows the vent a little more each week. Air stops moving through the way it should, and the dryer has to push harder to get it out at all.
- 34°F
- the average winter night, and cold vents catch damp lint
- 5 months
- November through March, the vent stays cold
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NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- How often should a dryer vent be cleaned?
- Once a year for most households. If you run big loads often, or you're regularly drying towels, bedding, or pet blankets, clean it more often than that. A clogged vent makes the dryer run longer to dry the same load, and that extra heat sitting in a duct packed with lint is how vent fires start.
- Can I clean my dryer vent myself?
- You can clean the lint trap and the first few feet of duct behind the dryer yourself, and you should do that often. But most homes have several feet of duct running through a wall or ceiling out to the vent hood, and a vacuum or a hardware store brush usually can't reach that far or clear what's packed into a bend. A contractor uses rods and a vent-rated brush built to clear the full run without tearing the duct.
- What are the signs of a clogged dryer vent?
- Clothes that come out hot but still damp after a full cycle is the clearest sign. Others are a dryer that runs noticeably longer than it used to, the outside of the dryer feeling hot to the touch, a burning smell, and little to no airflow at the outside vent hood when the dryer is running. If you notice any of these, get the vent cleaned before running more loads.