You need to be cleansing your dryer vent about yearly, and whereas it may be a barely inconvenient activity, it’s necessary to know that the much-touted “hack” of clearing lint out with a leaf blower is a foul concept. Along with not being very efficient for a number of causes, utilizing conventional cleansing strategies in your dryer vent isn’t difficult, there are potential hazards you possibly can trigger through the use of a leaf blower instead of the correct gear.
You might need seen a video of somebody performing an amazingly quick dryer vent blow-out with a leaf blower, however the trick solely works in case you have a smooth-sided, straight vent with no screens in order that there are not any obstructions for the lint and particles shifting via the vent. This can be a uncommon set-up, although, so it’s not one thing everybody ought to try.
In case your vent has any screens, tough sides, bends, or different obstructions, it may possibly trigger lint to be packed right into a dense plug within the vent. Jamming the lint in like that can impede airflow and may result in larger issues. The kits which can be made for the aim of clearing your dryer vents gained’t trigger this downside and solely price between about $15 and $20 from a ironmongery store. These will include brushes that can loosen up lint that’s caught in crevices and bends within the vent, relatively than impacting them additional, much like the way in which a chiminea brush works.
If you find yourself with a compacted plug of lint and different particles in your dryer vent, it may possibly trigger issues to your dryer together with overheating and stress on the fan that blows the air out via the vent. It may also lure moisture and trigger some musty odor, in addition to doubtlessly taking longer to dry your garments. Whereas many dryers have sensors that can trigger them to close off if the vent is obstructed, that’s its personal downside in the event you’re making an attempt to dry your garments. You possibly can additionally overheat and doubtlessly trigger injury to the dryer. Overheating may trigger clothes to get singed or artificial materials to soften.
The worst case state of affairs is that you may overheat both your dryer or your vent and trigger a fireplace. Along with trapping sizzling air contained in the dryer, a densely packed clod of lint could be very flammable. If there’s a hearth, extra lint within the vent can act as gasoline, inflicting the hearth to unfold via the vent and doubtlessly into your construction in addition to endangering any close by crops. To forestall a dryer hearth, one of the simplest ways to wash your vents is with a brush designed to just do that. You too can get kits which can be made to be hooked up to most vacuum cleaners and may make cleansing out longer vents or these with twists and turns a little bit simpler. In case you should use a leaf blower, do your self a favor and use a vent scope digicam, which prices round $40, to ensure the job is completed and there are not any blockages contained in the system.
