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Your clothes dryer is a fantastic appliance that makes doing laundry easier and more convenient than ever.
Let’s talk about how you can maintain your dryer vent system and the dryer lint trap to achieve optimum energy efficiency, appliance longevity, and keep your home safe.
How often to clean dryer vent? The best practice is to clean your dryer vent system at least once a year and some experts recommend twice. If you have a large family or use your dryer a lot for any other reasons, you will want to clean it more frequently.
WHAT’S CLOGGING MY DRYER VENT SYSTEM?
The simple answer is: LINT. Every time you wash a load of clothes, tiny fibers are removed from the edges of your clothing.
These fibers stick to your wet garments when you transfer them into your dryer.
The hot blowing air in your dryer removes them from your tumbling clothes by the thousands and they accumulate in your dryer and in its vent system.
WHY IS CLOGGING A PROBLEM?
A lot of lint is captured in your dryer’s lint trap and much more can accumulate in your dryer’s lint trap housing, inside the dryer duct, inside the dryer vent, and even inside the dryer itself.
Your dryer does its job by expelling hot, moist air, so the lint can bunch up and clog when it’s moist and then dry out.
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- A clogged dryer vent system is a fire hazard because lint is flammable and your dryer blows hot air through the vent system. According to FEMA, there are about 2,900 home dryer fires every year, resulting in 5 deaths, 100 injuries, and $35,000,000 in property damage. The leading cause of these fires – more than 1/3 – is the homeowner’s failure to clean their dryer on a regular basis.
- A clogged dryer vent system increases your energy costs. Your dryer’s efficiency depends on fluidly blowing hot air out of your dryer through the vent system. If your dryer vent system is obstructed by accumulated lint, it takes longer for your load to dry and so it takes more energy to run the dryer longer and push out the hot air.
HOW DO I KNOW IF MY DRYER VENT NEEDS CLEANING?
You don’t have to be an appliance expert to know when your dryer vent system could use a good cleaning.
Here are four simple indicators that it’s time to clean your dryer vent system:
- It’s been a year since the last time you cleaned it
- You see that there’s a lot of lint accumulated behind the dryer, which tells you that all the lint isn’t able to get into and then through the vent system and is backing up
- You notice that there are mold and mildew around the dryer or where the vent goes through the laundry room wall, which indicates that the moist air from the dryer is escaping because it can’t flow freely through the vent system
- Your drying is frequently overheating, which could be because it’s motor is working too hard to push out the hot, moist air and it’s running too long to dry a load
If you observe any of these things, it’s time to take immediate action to save on energy costs, to prevent costly repairs necessitated by having an overworked dryer, and, most importantly, to protect your family and home from a tragic fire.
CAN I CLEAN DRYER VENT MYSELF?
Many homeowners prefer to save money by cleaning their dryer vent system themselves.
It’s a good and relatively simple do-it-yourself project, but you should be aware of some limitations and cautions.
If your dryer vent system is too long, or if it has a lot of bends and twists to it, you may find that cleaning it by yourself is extremely difficult or maybe even impossible. How do you know?
You can get a good idea about the length of your dryer vent system by eyeballing or measuring how far the dryer is from the exterior wall where you find the dryer exhaust port.
If the dryer vent system’s path is short and straight, you can most likely easily do the job yourself.
If the vent path is long or twisty, it’s better to hire a professional.
It’s quick and easy to clean your dryer vent system if your dryer is located next to an exterior wall and the vent system path is short and straight.
In either case, you will approach this project both from outside the house and from inside.
OUTSIDE THE HOUSE
- Remove the vent system exhaust port cover. This isn’t difficult because it will just snap off and snap back on, or easily screw on and off. Most vent system exhaust ports are located on the side of your house, usually a few feet off the ground. Occasionally an exhaust port will be on the roof, especially if the dryer is located close to the center of the home.
- You’ll typically find a ball of lint just inside the duct. Reach in and gently remove any lint that’s accumulated. You’ll also want to remove any accumulated lint off the vent exhaust cover. You’ll be surprised by how much lint can accumulate.
- Run your ShopVac or vacuum into the vent and over the vent cover to suck up any remnants. You can also use a brush if you don’t have a vacuum handy.
- Reinstall the exhaust port cover by either snapping or screwing it back in place.
INSIDE THE HOUSE
- Safety First: Make sure that you unplug your electric dryer or turn off the gas if you have a gas dryer.
- Pull the dryer away from the wall. If you have a gas dryer, turn off the gas before moving the dryer. Be patient in either case, because It’s not unusual to have to go through some contortions to reach everything, but you can do it.
- You’ll see a flexible accordion-like duct running from the dryer to another vent inside the wall. It’s usually held in place by a band clamp, which you will unscrew to free the duct from the back of the dryer. Free the other end of the flexible duct and check it out for damage. They usually don’t need to be replaced unless you see a hole or tear or you notice that the duct has been crushed.
- Vykartáčujte a vysajte vlákna z vnitřku flexibilního potrubí. Když to uděláte, dejte pozor, abyste nepropíchli nebo neroztrhli ohebnou trubici.
- Vykartáčujte a vysajte vlákna z pevného ventilačního systému, který prochází stěnou k výfukovému otvoru ventilačního systému.
- Znovu připojte flexibilní potrubí k zadní části sušičky ak pevnému potrubí.
- Přesuňte sušičku zpět do původní polohy. Pokud chcete, můžete elektrický sušák zapojit, než jej zatlačíte zpět ke zdi, protože je často snazší. Pokud máte sušičku plynu, před opětovným zapnutím plynu ji zatlačte na místo.
Sady na čištění větracích otvorů sušičky se pohybují v ceně podle funkcí a kvality. Ve většině obchodů můžete očekávat, že utratíte mezi 10 a 35 dolary.
Pravděpodobně vám projdou nejjednodušší a nejlevnější sady, pokud máte krátký, rovný ventilační systém sušičky.
Možná budete muset utratit více, pokud je váš ventilační systém sušičky delší a chcete provést důkladnější práci.
Sady obvykle obsahují řadu tenkých pružných tyčinek, ke kterým připevníte kartáč.
Jemně otáčíte tyčí a pohybujete kartáčem uvnitř potrubí, abyste uvolnili usazeniny vláken, aby je vysavač mohl vysát.
Cennější sady obsahují šikovné nástavce, jako jsou nástroje k rozbití ucpávek a šablony pro držení tyčí a vakuové hadice na místě u ústí potrubí.
KDY JE ČAS ZAVOLAT PROFESIONÁLU?
Pokud nejste domácí kutil nebo je váš ventilační systém sušičky dlouhý nebo má hodně ohybů, bude lepší, když jej necháte profesionálně vyčistit.
KOLIK STOJÍ ČIŠTĚNÍ VĚTRACÍHO OTVORU SUŠIČKY?
Vaše náklady budou záviset na tom, kde žijete a na typu a stavu vašeho ventilačního systému sušičky, ale většina společností HVAC nebo specialistů na čištění potrubí si účtuje za čištění ventilačního systému sušičky pouhých 90 USD.
JAK ČASTO BYSTE MĚLI ČISTIT VAŠI lapač Sušicích vláken?
Váš lapač vláken je důležitou součástí ventilačního systému vaší sušičky a měl by být čištěn pokaždé, když sušíte spoustu oblečení.
UZAVÍRAJÍ SE SUŠIČE PLECHY SAPACOVAČ?
Zbytky z listů sušičky mohou pokrýt síto na zachycení vláken. Zde je návod, jak jej vyčistit:
- Odhrňte vlákna pomocí prstů.
- Navlhčete obrazovku teplou vodou
- Pomocí nylonového kartáče jemně vydrhněte obrazovku čisticím prostředkem na nádobí a vodou
- Opláchněte, osušte a znovu nainstalujte
ZÁVĚR
Čistý ventilační systém sušičky je nezbytný pro hladký a efektivní provoz vaší sušičky. Mělo by se čistit každých 6-12 měsíců.
Můžete to udělat sami nebo si najmout profesionála. Při každém použití sušičky byste měli vyčistit lapač vláken.
