Even if you’re fastidious about cleaning your clothes dryer’s lint trap every time you dry a load of laundry, the dryer still could perform poorly, malfunction or even catch on fire.
Cleaning the lint trap is important, but it’s not enough. You need to clean the dryer vent, the round, metal tube that attaches to the back of the dryer and snakes all the way to the outdoors, at least once a year, and every month is better.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that lint-filled dryer vents cause 15,500 fires, 10 deaths and at least 10 injuries every year. These fires are preventable.
When lint accumulates in your dryer vent, it prevents air from flowing through the vent. Lint can easily catch on fire.
The problem is exacerbated when the dryer vent is extra-long if the dryer isn’t located near an outside wall.
The vent is pretty easy to clean. You’ll need a nylon vent brush attached to a long, flexible rod. Look for one in any hardware store.
To clean the vent, start outdoors where the vent exhausts to the outside of your house. Remove the flapper that covers the dryer vent on the outside.
Snake the brush into the vent, and then push and pull it a few times to remove the lint. Then reconnect the vent to the dryer.
Replace the flapper onto the vent at the outside of the house.
If your vent needs more attention than you can give it yourself, call a plumber or an electrician, who will bring a jet snake to do the job.
And if you find birds or critters in your vent, consider investing in a durable, bird-proof flap for the outside of the vent. A tip: Don’t use a screen; it will clog too easily, and avoid a flap that completely seals the vent. Find one with three slats—it will keep birds away but allow air and lint to escape.
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