Dryer Vent Cleaning in Grand Rapids, MI
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Step 1 of 3: Equipment
What cold does to a dryer vent in Kent County
Your dryer pushes out warm, damp air, and that air has to travel through a vent that sits in a cold space most of the year. From December through February, nights here average 19°F. The warm air cools fast once it hits that cold metal, and the moisture in it settles on the vent walls.
Lint sticks to a damp surface a lot better than it sticks to a dry one. Over a winter, that buildup narrows the vent until the dryer is pushing air through a smaller and smaller opening. Less air moving out means more heat and moisture staying in the vent, which is exactly what lets more lint cling to it.
- 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. If you run large loads often, or you have a longer duct run to the outside, check it sooner. A vent that's clogged makes the dryer run hotter and longer to get clothes dry, and that heat has nowhere to go but back into the room and the machine.
- Can I clean my dryer vent myself?
- You can clean the lint trap and the first foot or two of duct yourself, but that's not the same as clearing the whole vent run. Most vents travel through walls or up through the roof, with bends you can't reach or see into. A contractor uses a brush and rod system built for the full length of the duct, and can tell you if the vent hood outside is doing its job too.
- What are the signs of a clogged dryer vent?
- Clothes that take more than one cycle to dry is the clearest sign. Others are a dryer that runs hot to the touch, a burning smell during the cycle, or lint you can see gathering around the vent hood outside the house. If the flap on the outside hood barely moves when the dryer is running, air isn't getting through the way it should.