Dryer vent fires at the moment are the number 1 cause of all home fires within the US, outpacing chimney fires. Dryer vents are a type of out of sight, out of mind things which you can’t afford to ignore. When you realize that the lint trap on a dryer (even a new one), only removes or stops eighty% of the lint – you can see the importance of cleaning your exhaust system once a year.
Dryer lint is highly flammable and under the best conditions can cause a dryer fire, typically spreading by the vent system which in turn spreads the fire quickly all through your home. As a dryer does it’s job, about half a pound of water is removed, lint is trapped by your lint trap, and air is forced by means of your dryer exhaust system. All through time, this extra lint backs up in your dryer and the exhaust or venting system. Airflow is restricted, your dryer works harder and the motor overheats. With extra lint buildup, your dryer is now a ripe candidate for a dryer fire.
Dryer Safety and Inspection Tips
1. Make positive your lint trap has no rips and also you clean it earlier than each drying cycle. If the lint is wet in your lint trap, it might mean that it is time to clean your dryer vents. Also, the lint screen should be lightly scrubbed every week and washed with light dish washing soap.
2. Visually examine your exterior vent hood on the side of your property when the dryer is operating. Are the flaps moving, can you feel any airflow? If not, it is time to get your dryer exhaust system cleaned and your dryer inspected.
3. Inspect around your dryer for lint on the floor. This is a warning sign that your dryer exhaust system must be cleaned.
4. In case your clothes are taking more than one cycle to dry, this could be a sign that your dryer exhaust system must be cleaned right away.
5. By no means dry any garments or rags which were soaked with any flammables. It can cause an explosive situation in your dryer.
Dryer Vent Cleaning Recommendations
There are some online products available that you should use to clean your vents such as brushes with rods that can be attached to a high powered drill. Most of these products are inferior and do a less than satisfactory job for dryer vent runs over 10′. It is important for you to call a professional when doing dryer vent cleaning because of the completely different situations that can and will be encountered. A few of these conditions are wrong vent types, loose or disconnected vents, or vents with too many angles and bends. A dryer vent cleaning professional often has completely different types of cleaning equipment relying on the situation. It is important for you to ask the dryer vent professional in the event that they will do on site repairs or upgrades as approximately 50% of the jobs encountered will need something of this nature.
Dryer Vent Repairs
Among the repairs which may be wanted may include: rerunning or changing out the dryer vent exhaust duct work, adding or changing a vent hood that exits the site of the building, going into the attic or crawl house to do repairs, cleaning from the top of the roof starting from where the duct exits towards the dryer, and even tearing into the wall or ceiling to repair a vent that has come loose. If you aren’t a useful individual that may do all the before mentioned repair items, leave it to a dryer vent professional.
Keep in mind, to stop dryer vent fires in your house, get your dryer exhaust system cleaned once a year. When you live in a condominium complicated make certain your property manager knows the importance of dryer vent maintenance. Apartment owners should also make dryer vent cleaning in their units a priority.
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