Dryer Vent Cleaning

[walterjay]

Just cleaned mine yesterday. I use a vacuum to clean it out. I have a 20 foot hose that I feed through it and it does a great job.

 

[Bud]

Looking at cleaning a dryer duct/vent. Any tips or advise?

Planning to get this: Amazon or should I get something in higher length?

Appreciate any other help too

This is what I use and works well.

 

[dbias]

As others have said i take the front off of the dryer and shop vac out the inside of the dryer, the clean the 3 foot section the goes through the floor to a 90 elbow. Then go outside the house and remove the louvers, turn the dryer on and use a drill and brush like the OP posted from Amazon and clean the twelve foot or so section back to the elbow. I personally don't like the washer dryer in the center of the house but no way to change it.

 

[spasm3]

No need for a leaf blower. Here is the method that I have used with great success and works well IF you have a rigid straight pipe under the house.

• Clean the dryer outlet and flex that connects to the dryer and reattach to dryer
• Remove the louvers on the outside and assemble the vent brush
• Set the empty dryer to NO heat and start
• Go outside and spin the brush through the rigid pipe
• Stand to the side and be prepared to get dirty

You will be surprised how much lint comes out of a seemingly clean vent system. YMMV

Its true.

The first few feet of pipe after the dryer connection is the worst area. Damp lint sticks there, and eventually dries, Then the dried baked on lint, holds new damp lint and so on. You can get a 1/2 a 5 gallon bucket of lint out of a 10-15 ft smooth pipe.

 

[ripcord]

We have a rule in our house that we never leave the house unattended with the dryer running.

 

[Aredeeem]

We have a rule in our house that we never leave the house unattended with the dryer running.

Yes. Same here. Nothing that produces heat is left on. Wife thinks I’m crazy. I was once. Hence the argument.

 

[Malo83]

A shop vac really helps too. A few years back I was taking a CE class at unified fire investigations (think arson and cause investigators for insurance) they showed a film of a controlled fire caused by lint in a dryer, the fire was extremely hot and burned extremely fast (like a minute). Check your dryer vent ducts every 6 months, or more often if you have pets. The speed at which these fire start and propagate is unbelievable.

A shop vac works great, I use this kit that has an adapter, vac as the brush loosens and cleans the exhaust duct.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/LintEater-LintEater-10-Piece-Rotary-Dryer-Vent-Cleaning-System/5001206149

 

[PolarisX]

My dryer vent is the absolute minimum length and below my dryer because I'm on second floor. Literally like two feet long, vent is by the floor.

Every once in awhile when I'm washing my car I'll blast the weather cover with the hose briefly to clean that since it has a hard turn down on it.

 

[davidohara80]

Start by unplugging the dryer. Move the dryer away from the wall and disconnect the vent hose from the back. Use a vacuum with a long hose attachment to remove lint from the hose and the ductwork inside the wall. Don’t forget to clean the vent hood outside by removing visible lint and debris! Check for blockages inside the vent pipe using a vent cleaning brush or a flexible rod. The one you posted in the link will work just fine. Once everything is clean, reattach the vent hose to the dryer, secure it, and move the dryer back into place. Plug the dryer back in and run a short cycle to ensure everything is working correctly. Source: https://www.auroradryerventcleaningservice.com/

 

[Number_35]

In late 2017 I replaced the heater element in our dryer. I was shocked at the amount of lint inside the dryer.

I resolved to go in there annually and clean it out.

Not too long after that, I read something about how bad the flexible piping is for collecting lint. I replaced all the corrugated flex with straight sections and elbows.

I didn't stick to cleaning out the dryer annually, but did have to open it up for another repair a couple of years later.

The dryer was amazingly lint-free. I think the new ducting made all the difference.

 

[John105]

We got a new dryer 2023. I never put 1+1 together as naive as it sounds. Duct was clogged and it took 2 cycles to dry. The 1984 gas dryer finally broke. It likely had two belts along the way (it came with the house and when I replaced the belt the panels were loose and held by strapping tape—had to have been done before but prior to 2002).

Our duct is a very short distance, so I could even replace the entire tube if needed. But I will take a peek maybe in a year and a half. I can in fact see lint get past the screen and into the dryer itself. I try to vacuum it with a flexible hose adapter to Dyson (straight adapters can’t get in).