A lint-clogged dryer vent is a serious matter. If you can’t recall the last time your dryer vent was inspected, then you’re definitely overdue for a clean-out. Consider the lint build-up in your dryer venting as flammable as tinder and, therefore, a potential fire hazard. Removing the lint from your dryer’s lint trap each time you dry a load of wet clothes isn’t enough. Having your dryer vent cleaned not only improves your dryer’s efficiency, it prevents catastrophic fires and loss of life.
Symptoms of a Lint-Clogged Dryer Vent
If you notice any of the following symptoms, the dryer in your Fresno home may be trying to tell you something: clean me. Consider these danger signs and have your dryer vent cleaned immediately.
- The dryer and the clothes inside feel too hot. A dryer or tumbling clothes that feel almost too hot to touch can indicate a struggling exhaust system. Heat should vent outside your home, and, if the exhaust vent is clogged, the heat has nowhere to go.
- Clothes take longer to dry. If clothes take twice as long to dry, pay attention. Both moisture and heat can’t escape a dryer venting or a vent hood that’s packed with lint. Clothes simply won’t dry properly.
- You can smell something burning. As mentioned, the lint inside your dryer’s duct work is extremely flammable. As airflow becomes restricted by clogged venting, lint heats up and can ignite. When flexible plastic or vinyl ducting that lead from your dryer to the vent hood located outside your home get too hot, they too can catch fire.
- The flap on the exterior vent hood doesn’t open when dryer is in use. Over time, moist, packed lint becomes almost cement-like and can overload your dryer’s venting system. Mice, birds and other critters often build nests in these exterior vent hoods, as well, using the lint as nesting material. Along with lint build-up, nests clog the system, and fire often results.
Don’t wait; schedule a dryer vent inspection ASAP. Contact Donald P. Dick Air Conditioning with your questions about this or any other home comfort concern.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in the greater Fresno, California area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about dryer vents and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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