Most people dream of owning a dryer, so they can be sure that they can have their clothes ready to wear, especially when the weather conditions don’t let them dry naturally. However, those that own one often neglect dryer vent cleaning residential services, because they don’t take the maintenance seriously enough, they forget about it, or simply postpone that for some better times (that never come until it’s really urgent). Failure to clean the dryer vent can lead to a fire outbreak in the worst case. As you use the dryer, lint builds up and clogs the vent, and that’s the reason why often it may release horrible odor and dirt particles all over you. Lint is highly flammable, and when the dryer overheats, a fire can break out, or it can even ruin the electrical installation.
The good news is that lint will not accumulate in one day, so you really have enough time to clean it regularly every few months, so you can prevent unpleasant situations from happening. There will be signs that your dryer vent needs to be checked and cleaned, like weird sounds and weakness. Click here to read more on the signs to look out for and the benefits you will get when you opt for dryer vent cleaning residential, just to be sure that you indeed have to do that regularly.
Source: Northwest Abatement
Contents
1. Why Do Dryer Vents Block?
A dryer vent has the responsibility of letting hot air outside the laundry room. The hot air contains steam, that gives enough moisture to the dirt, and that sticks to the inside parts, and even if it looks clean from the outside, the situation is pretty different when you open it. When lint builds up, it blocks the duct, and this hot air builds up in the machine. Lint is highly combustive, and due to the continuous overheating of the system, this can cause a fire. To ensure there are no chances of a fire in the house, you should regularly seek out dryer vent cleaning residential services. We are sure that you don’t want something like that to happen at your home, so consider it as your regular obligation, just like keeping your room tidy, and the kitchen and toilet always clean.
2. Signs of a Dirty Dryer Vent
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Longer drying times
A clogged dryer vent makes the dryer take a longer time to dry the clothes. Taking a long time to complete the regular task is the first sign that something doesn’t work properly, and you need to fix that as soon as possible. This is because the machine is not letting out the hot moisture as it is supposed to be doing, which causes it to be inefficient. You will even notice that the clothes are damp and not properly dried, or they have some weird moldy smell all over them, even though they are just washed. Opting for residential dryer vent cleaning services will make way for the hot air to escape right on time, hence sufficient air circulation so that the dryer will work efficiently, and of course, last longer.
Source: Dust Doctors
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Burnt odors when drying
If you notice a burnt odor from your system or clothes during drying, it is a great sign that you need to check your dryer. Or, we should say that you must do that immediately, because if you postpone that chore once again, it may lead to fire, and nobody wants that to happen. When lint builds up, it clogs the vent, and hot air from the dryer cannot escape, but as the mechanism is still working, it warms up, without a chance to cool down naturally, because it’s already clogged. Lint is highly flammable. Since hot air cannot find its way out, the dryer starts overheating. Combining the heat with the highly flammable lint are the reasons why house fires occur. When you clean the vent, your clothes will come out clean and with no smell, and at the same time, you are protecting your residence from fire and potential material damages.
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Overheating of the dryer unit
It is wise to keep checking how hot your clothes are when they come out of the dryer. If your dryer is too hot to touch, check to see if lint has build up. The machine overheats because lint blocks the way for hot air out. If it works properly, the clothes will be warm, and the smell of the detergents will still be there.
Source: Choate’s HVAC
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Increased temperatures in the laundry room
This happens because the dryer vent is not letting out hot moisture, and a part of the heat is released into the environment, causing the room to be warmer than usual. The dryer, in turn, overheats because there is no circulation of fresh air that will cool down the system. The overheating of the machine is the reason why your laundry room has high temperatures, which is a non-stoppable cycle because the high temperatures don’t let the machine cool down and prevent overheating. To prevent such from happening, ensure you hire a professional dryer vent cleaning residential expert to check your dryer regularly. The vent can be cleaned and lint removed, and you won’t let clogging happen.
3. Benefits of Cleaning a Dryer Vent
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Increase the life of your dryer
Every time a machine overworks, its lifespan decreases, and the same goes for overheating too. This is because it was made to work in a certain way, at a pre-determined temperature, completely clean, and regularly maintained. Build-up lint leads to overworking of your dryer (and every other machine too), and this can be a threat to its life. It wears and tears some of the parts, which leads to damages that can’t be fixed, and you will need to buy a new device.
Also, when the machine overheats, some of its mechanical parts can burn. This leads to the breakdown of your dryer. You might incur expenses of repairing these parts or replacing them when you can prevent such from happening by cleaning the vent – we assure you that is much cheaper to clean it regularly than to replace the damaged parts.
Source: Forever Vent
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Increase the life of your clothes
When the dryer overheats, some heat is transferred to your clothes. This weakens the fibers of the fabric and may cause tearing up, even though the clothes are new and not often wear. Also, clogged dryers take a long time to dry your clothes, and exposing them to extreme heat damages the fibers. To ensure this does not happen, you should keep your dryer vents clean by residential dryer vent cleaning services so that the machine performs efficiently.
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Save energy
An inefficient dryer works harder than it should be working. When clothes take a longer time to dry, it means that more energy is being used. Also, when the dryer is overworking, it is using more power hence increased energy bills. And when it doesn’t work properly, it will also consume a lot of electrical energy, and there will be a huge difference with the bills – but once again, it’s much cheaper and affordable to fix the problem, instead of overpaying for electricity and completely damaged device.
Source: CNET
Cleaning the vent will make the machine work effectively, with the right amount of energy and this saves your energy hence saving money. It is better to pay for it to be cleaned once a year than paying high energy bills monthly. That’s a nice example of responsible behavior, no matter if you live in your own house, or in a building apartment with a lot of neighbors around you.
