Town Crier Articles

Home Maintenance: Get the Lint Out
Posted on June 1, 2022 6:30 AM by Jim Ducibella
Categories: General
 
Six weeks ago, it was taking so long for us to do a load of laundry, we wondered if the neighbors weren’t sneaking dirty clothes into our home. In truth, our dryer was the culprit. We needed to run it three or four cycles just to dry a load that used to take one cycle. Being all too sadly familiar with planned obsolescence, we figured our 14-year-old appliance had hit the end of the road. But before we started shopping, we brought in a repairman.
 
He said the dryer was fine, then asked when had we last cleaned out the vent? We’d had it done; we just couldn’t remember when.
 
I took my shop vac and vacuumed both inside and out. I got a lot of lint, but the dryer still wasn’t right. The repairman had recommended calling Atlantic Vent Cleaning, though he added there were other good companies as well. We decided to take the first available appointment, which turned out to be the next day with Atlantic.
 
For a bit more than $100, the Atlantic technician used a 23-foot snake to completely empty our vents of lint (see photo for about half of what he got from the outside vent.) We were so impressed and relieved that we’ve already scheduled an appointment for this time next year. Why?
 
 
According to Dustdoctors.com, here are the negatives to a clogged dryer vent:
  • House fires. Just under five percent of all house fires in the U.S. start in the laundry room, resulting in deaths, injuries, and hundreds of million dollars in damages each year. Of those fires, a third of them were caused by the homeowner forgetting to clean the dryer vent.
  • Higher bills. Overheating can cause your equipment to break and need expensive repairs or replacement. Combine this with increased utility from an ineffective dryer, and the cost of a clogged dryer vent can really add up.
  • Pests. It is something which many people never consider, but if there is enough build-up to push open the outside laundry flap, you are proving an easy way for pests like rodents to enter your home.
Here are some warning signs:
  1. It takes longer than usual to dry your clothes. A clog in your vent prevents the hot, moist air from escaping your dryer, which prolongs the drying time and leaves your clothes wet at the end of a cycle.
  2. You notice a burning smell. Lint and fabric fuzz are highly flammable, so it doesn't take too much heat to ignite a small piece. If you ever smell something burning when operating your dryer, turn it off and contact a technician immediately.
  3. Your clothes are hot to the touch at the end of a load. If you find it difficult to touch your clothes without burning your hand, your vent may be clogged, which prevents hot air from escaping.
  4. You can see lint or debris in the dryer hose or around the outside dryer flap. Once you can see a build-up in either of these two places, you know you are well past the time you should have cleaned your dryer ducts.
  5. You haven't cleaned your vents in over a year. In a typical household, the dryer vent should be cleaned at least once a year. Homes with more frequent loads of laundry need to clean out their vents more often.
Comments
No Comments
Archives
RSS Icon