Clogged dryer air ducts aren’t just dirty — they are a significant fire hazard to your household. Not to mention the hazards they pose to your time and money.

Even if the worst case scenario never happens, plugged-up air ducts will make your dryer less efficient and drive up energy bills. After all, a dirty dryer vent can’t properly do what it’s made to do: ventilate!

The Fire Risk is Real

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), dryer vents stuffed with lint are one of the leading causes of home fires. They estimate that roughly 16 thousand home fires are caused by dryers or washing machines each year.

Dryers alone cause 92 percent of those fires — almost 15 thousand per year.

A third of the time, “failure to clean” is the primary reason the fire ignites.

The rest of the time, obstructed air ducts may still play a role, causing dryers to overheat and creating the perfect tinderbox for a spark to become a fire. And not only is lint build-up in your air duct flammable, the typical laundry area is also full of flammable items, like clothes and cleaning products.

Tragically, the NFPA also found that washer and dryer-related home fires were responsible for 13 deaths, 440 injuries, and $238 million in property damage each year. Homeowners need to know that it’s dangerous to neglect dryer cleaning and maintenance.

Read on to learn how to tell if your dryer air ducts need cleaning, and how to get the job done.

6 Signs Your Dryer Vent is Clogged

Your air duct is a critical component of your dryer, affecting the efficiency, wear and tear, and lifespan of this essential appliance. That’s why it’s so important to be on the lookout for warning signs of blockage and congestion in the duct and vent.

Hint: If you haven’t cleaned your dryer air duct at least within the last year, you can be sure it’s stockpiling lint and debris. But if you need more evidence, look for one or more of these six signs.

Sign One: Your Dryer Isn’t Drying as Well as it Used to

Do you have to run a load of laundry through the dry cycle more than once? If your clothes take longer than usual to fully dry, or you notice your energy bill creeping up, a debris-filled duct could be to blame.

Sign Two: Your Clothes Seem Hotter Than Usual Coming Out of the Dryer

Warm clothes fresh out of the dryer are one of life’s greatest pleasures. Have your clothes gone from warm to scorching? 

Sign Three: The Outside of Your Dryer Gets Really Hot

A clogged air duct or vent puts extra stress on your dryer because it can’t vent moisture quickly enough. When it’s working extra hard to dry your clothes, your dryer overheats and the exterior is hot to the touch at the end of a cycle.

Sign Four: Is Something Burning?

If you notice a burning smell, however slight, you should stop using your dryer. This is a glaring sign that your dryer is generating excessive heat and fire is an imminent danger.

Sign Five: Your Laundry Room is Feeling a Little Humid These Days

A congested dryer duct is a little known culprit behind excess humidity in the home. A dry cycle creates a large amount of lint and moisture. If your dryer can’t effectively vent all of it to the outside, it can build up inside your home.

Sign Six: You See Lint Collecting Around Your Outside Exhaust Vent

When you inspect the vent flap on the exterior of your home, do you see any lint or debris on the ground or in and around the vent opening? Is the vent flap obstructed so it doesn’t fully open? This is a sure sign there’s a buildup in the air duct, which means the dryer exhaust can’t escape as quickly or forcefully as it should.

If you see any of these six warning signs, contact a cleaning specialist right away to inspect your dryer and remove buildup from the air duct, vent, lint trap, and other areas.

Why You Need a Professional for the Job

It’s recommended that homeowners have their dryer air ducts and vents cleaned one to three times per year, depending on your usage. A family with three kids in soccer, for example, might do laundry daily and need to schedule air duct cleanings every four or five months.

It’s tempting to tackle this on your own, and we usually love to give our readers DIY cleaning tips, but you need a specialist with the proper knowledge and tools to do the job right. With the safety of your home and loved ones at stake, you don’t want to leave anything to chance.

There are unpredictable challenges to cleaning dryer air ducts that professionals are well-equipped to handle:

• Not all ductwork is visible or easily accessible. Your vent hose could be many feet long, depending on what route it takes to reach the outside exhaust vent. A professional can make sure every inch is thoroughly cleaned.
• Misguided cleaning efforts make things worse. If you’re not using the proper tools, like a long enough brush, you can end up pushing the lint into one big hard-to-reach blockage. And even if you do have the proper tools, you can damage your dryer hose if you don’t know how to use them.
• A simple brush and vacuum aren’t powerful enough. Brush kits sold for dryer ducts just don’t cut it. Dryer duct cleaning pros may use a combination of high powered vacuums, compressed air, and special brushes — whatever is most suitable to your situation.
• Can you safely detach and reattach the ductwork? Detaching the air duct requires repositioning your dryer and removing metal tape or clamps, which must be properly replaced when you’re done. If your dryer runs on gas, you must be careful not to disturb the gas line while you’re at it. Most importantly, a professional can tell if your ductwork is out of date; some older materials used are now considered a fire hazard!

Keep Your Dryer Air Duct Lint-Free

A regularly cleaned dryer will use less energy and have a longer life. Plus you’ll have peace of mind knowing your home is safe. If your dryer air ducts and vents have been neglected, let the professional staff at Lily’s Cleaning Service help out. Contact us today for a FREE quote.