Dryer Vent Cleaning in Alburgh, VT
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Step 1 of 3: Equipment
Cold pushes lint further into the vent
Your dryer pushes out warm, damp air, and in an Alburgh winter that air is hitting a vent run surrounded by cold. Nights average 13°F from December through February, so the air cools fast once it is a few feet in. Lint that would blow on through in a warm vent sticks to the damp walls instead, and the run narrows a little more each load.
A vent that cannot push air out all the way to the outside wall backs moist air into the space around the dryer. With heat needed here from September through May, that is most of the year for buildup to collect before anyone has a reason to check it.
- 13°F
- the average winter night, and cold vents catch damp lint
- 9 months
- September through May, the vent stays cold
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NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- How often should a dryer vent be cleaned?
- Once a year is the standard rule, more often if you dry a lot of laundry or the vent run is long. Lint builds up along the way even when the lint trap looks clean, and it narrows the path the air needs to escape. A yearly cleaning keeps the dryer running the way it should and keeps that lint from becoming a fire risk.
- Can I clean my dryer vent myself?
- You can clean the part you can reach, but you likely cannot clean the whole vent yourself. A vacuum and a brush handle the first few feet near the dryer, but most vents run several feet through a wall or ceiling to an outside hood, and lint collects the whole way. A contractor uses a longer brush system built to clear the full run and check that the vent hood outside is opening and closing the way it should.
- What are the signs of a clogged dryer vent?
- Clothes that take longer to dry than they used to, or come out hotter than normal, are the first sign. A burning smell during the cycle, a dryer that shuts off partway through, or heavy lint around the outside vent hood are others. If the vent hood flap is not swinging open freely when the dryer runs, air is not getting out the way it should.