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Dryer vent cleaning improves the safety and efficiency of your dryer installation. As dryer vents become filled with lint and other debris, drying time increases and can cause the dryer itself to overheat. This increases energy consumption since the dryer has to run longer to dry your clothes and can also cause fires in the dryer or the dryer duct. The Consumer Product Safety Commission reports dryer related home fires are on the increase.
If you have noticed that your dryer is running longer than it used to, you may need to have the dryer vent cleaned. Some dryer vents are relatively short and straight and can be cleaned easily by the homeowner, but others aren't that easy and may require the use of special tools and equipment. We have tools specifically designed to clean dryer vents and with these tools we are able to do a thorough job of cleaning even the most difficult installations. While dryer vents are routinely blocked with lint, animal nesting is also another frequent cause of dryer vent blockage and our equipment allows us to remove these blockages as well.
Another problem created by blocked dryer vents serving gas dryers is the possibility of carbon monoxide seepage into your home. If the dryer is not exhausting properly outdoors, carbon monoxide can back up into the home.
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Most dryer vents should be cleaned at least every two years or so. This depends on the length of your vent, how many twists and turns, and how often the dryer is used every week. Dryers that have short vents and little usage may be able to go longer than normal before being cleaned.
Cleaning the dryer vent can help prevent the possibility of a fire in your house or dangerous carbon monoxide gas, in the case of a gas dryer, from entering your house and, can save you money on electricity or gas cost. A clean vent pipe allows the dryer to move the proper amount air through the system taking the humidity out of the clothes, caused by the heating of burners or electric elements in your dryer thus allowing your clothes to dry quicker with less energy consumed. Take time to notice if your dryer is running longer with the same amount of clothes, this may be a red flag that your vent needs cleaning.
The white vinyl-type vent pipe is both common and highly flammable and causes dangerous fumes when burning. If the lint catches on fire while the dryer is running it can blow flames into the vent pipe catching the vinyl connector between the dryer and wall on fire. It can also blow flaming balls of lint around in the area where the dryer sits and behind the sheet rock behind the dryer which causing the fire to spread faster.
A smoke detector should be installed to give a early warning about smoke or fire in this area and the old dryer vent material replaced with the new flame resistant silver UL listed flex. |
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Chimney cleaning
