Dryer Vent Cleaning in Flint, MI
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Step 1 of 3: Equipment
Cold vent walls trap lint fast
Your dryer pushes out warm, damp air, and it has to travel through vent that sits in a cold attic or against an outside wall most of the year. Flint winter nights average 19°F, so that warm air cools fast once it hits the vent. When it cools, the moisture it carries lands on the vent walls, and lint sticks to that damp surface instead of blowing outside.
With eight months of heating season here, the vent spends most of the year cold on the inside. That gives lint a lot of time to build up layer on layer, narrowing the path air needs to get out of the house.
- 19°F
- the average winter night, and cold vents catch damp lint
- 8 months
- October 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 for most households. Lint builds up along the inside of the duct even when the lint trap looks clean, and a clog forces the dryer to run hotter and longer to get clothes dry. If your vent run is long or has several bends, or the duct twists to reach an outside wall, it is worth having it checked more often than that.
- Can I clean my dryer vent myself?
- You can handle the easy part yourself, but most of the vent is out of reach. Pull the lint trap after every load and vacuum what you can reach behind the dryer. The real buildup sits further down the duct and around the outside vent hood, and reaching that takes a brush kit long enough to run the full length of the pipe. If your vent run is long or has several bends, a contractor with the right length rod can clear it without disconnecting the duct from the wall.
- What are the signs of a clogged dryer vent?
- Clothes that are still damp after a full cycle is the clearest sign. Others include the outside of the dryer feeling hotter than usual, a burnt smell during the cycle, or the vent hood outside barely moving air when the dryer runs. If you notice lint collecting around the outside vent flap or the laundry room getting warm and humid during drying, the duct is likely blocked somewhere between the dryer and the outside wall.