When you think of fire hazards in your home, you probably think of candles, faulty wiring, or leaving the stove on. But did you know that your clothes dryer is one of the leading causes of house fires in the United States?
According to the U.S. Fire Administration, failure to clean the dryer vent causes thousands of residential fires every year. These fires result in millions of dollars in property damage, injuries, and even deaths.
The problem is that most homeowners think cleaning the little lint screen after every load is enough. It’s not. Lint bypasses that screen and builds up deep inside the vent hose and the ductwork that leads outside.
If that highly flammable lint gets too hot, it only takes one spark to ignite. To keep your home and family safe, watch out for these five warning signs that it is time to clean your dryer vent.
- Your Clothes Are Taking Forever to Dry
If you have to run your jeans or towels through the dryer two or three times before they are actually dry, that is the number one sign of a clog. When the vent is blocked, the hot, moist air has nowhere to go. It gets trapped inside the drum, meaning your clothes just sit there spinning in damp, warm air. Not only is this frustrating, but it also jacks up your electric or gas bill.
- The Laundry Room Feels Like a Sauna
When your dryer is running, take a walk into your laundry room. Does it feel unusually hot and humid? Is there a burning, musty smell in the air? When the exhaust vent is clogged, all that heat and moisture gets pushed right back into your house instead of venting outside.
- Your Dryer is Hot to the Touch
Go over to your dryer while it’s running and carefully touch the outside of the machine. If the top and sides are exceptionally hot to the touch, it means the appliance is overheating. This happens because the machine is working overtime to push air through a blocked pipe. This extreme heat is exactly what causes the trapped lint to catch fire.
- You See Lint Around the Outside Vent
Take a walk outside your house and look at the exterior wall where your dryer exhausts. If you see a buildup of lint around the vent hood, or if the flap is stuck open, you have a serious backup inside the duct. The lint is being pushed so hard that it’s escaping outside, but there is likely a much larger blockage deeper in the pipe.
- It’s Been Over a Year
Even if you aren’t noticing any of the symptoms above, time is a major factor. If you can’t remember the last time a professional looked at your dryer vent, you are overdue. Most experts recommend having your dryer vent cleaned at least once a year. If you have a large family doing laundry daily, or if you have pets that shed a lot of hair, you might even need it done twice a year.
Don’t Risk a Dryer Fire
Cleaning the lint trap after every load is a great habit, but it’s not a substitute for a professional vent cleaning. Trying to snake the vent yourself with a flimsy wire from the hardware store often just packs the lint tighter or damages the ductwork, making the fire hazard worse.
If your dryer is showing any of these warning signs, it’s time to call in the professionals. Our team provides thorough dryer vent cleaning and repair to get the air flowing safely again. We help homeowners across the Twin Cities protect their homes from preventable fires.
Whether you live right in Minneapolis or down in Chanhassen, we can be at your door to clear out the blockage. Ready to make your laundry room safe again? Contact us today to schedule your cleaning!
