Dryer Vent Cleaning in Bloomington, IN
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Step 1 of 3: Equipment
Cold turns lint into a wall inside your vent
Your dryer pushes out warm, damp air every time it runs. Once that air hits the cold vent pipe, it cools fast, and the moisture in it has nowhere to go. Lint sticks to those damp walls instead of blowing outside, and layer by layer the vent narrows.
Winter nights here average 24°F from December through February, and homes need heat from October through April, seven months a year. That is most of the year for a warm, wet vent to sit inside cold walls. A vent choked with lint makes the dryer run longer to dry the same load, and it puts a lint-fed fire hazard behind your wall.
- 24°F
- the average winter night, and cold vents catch damp lint
- 7 months
- October through April, the vent stays cold
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NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- How often should a dryer vent be cleaned?
- Once a year is the usual rule. How fast lint builds up depends on how much the dryer gets used and how long the vent run is. A short, straight run to the outside wall stays clear longer than one that bends through walls or up through a roof, so a bent or long run is worth checking more often.
- Can I clean my dryer vent myself?
- You can clean the lint trap and the first few feet yourself, but you can't reach the whole run with a vacuum or a brush from a hardware store. Most vents bend through walls or up through a roof, and lint builds up at those bends where you can't see it. A contractor uses a rod system or a brush built for the full length of the vent, not just the part you can reach.
- What are the signs of a clogged dryer vent?
- Clothes that take longer than one cycle to dry, a dryer that feels hot to the touch on the outside, and a burning smell when it runs. Check the outside vent hood too. If the flap barely moves or you don't feel much air coming out while the dryer runs, the vent is blocked somewhere along the line.