Constant Maintenance
Cleaning the lint trap – This is a part of the maintenance that you should make sure you are doing on a regular basis. The lint trap should be cleaned after every load of laundry. While you may not think a lot of lint is coming off of your clothes, any lint that is left in the trap from the load before will decrease the efficiency of the dryer. Additionally, that lint can start to sneak around the edges of the lint trap and get clogged up in other parts of the dryer, causing problems.
Periodic Maintenance
When it comes to the lint trap, you should periodically go beyond just pulling the lint off of the trap screen. From time to time, use your vacuum nozzle attachment or a shop vac to try and suck out any other lint that is in the chute where the lint trap rests.
Outside the lint trap, there is plenty of lint that will sneak around in your dryer and the vent line, no matter how good you are at cleaning it up. You will need to remove the back panel from your dryer to clean the lint that has built up around the motor and the drum.
Dryer vent cleaning brushes and tools can be purchased at hardware or home-improvement stores. The brush will have a long, hose-like handle that can be pushed through the line leading from your dryer to the vent to clean out any build up.
Remove the vent tube from the back of the dryer and reach in as far as you can to remove lint accumulation. Go outside and reach in from the vent. Reconnect everything and turn on the dryer to blow out anything you may have missed.
How long did all this take? It sounds pretty simple. Do you think you did a good job? Was it worth the little bit of money you may have saved by doing it yourself? Maybe your dryer vent system is clean enough, but is it properly installed?
If you have any doubts you should have a professional inspect your dryer vent system. An improperly installed dryer vent or one made of inferior material can be hazardous…even if it is squeaky clean!
Dryer vent cleaning is recommended at least once a year to ensure your dryer is working safely and efficiently. If you are quite handy and you insist on doing it yourself, consider hiring a professional every few years to be sure your dryer vent system meets current safety standards.
Rhonda Nole, owner of Dryer Vent Wizard, provides dryer vent cleaning, dryer vent repair, dryer vent installation, dryer vent inspections and all dryer vent services for homes and businesses in the Greater North Bay area, Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, Sonoma, Cotati, Napa, Petaluma, San Rafael, Greenbrae, Larkspur, Mill Valley, Sausalito, San Anselmo, Tiburon, Sebastopol, Windsor, Healdsburg, Graton, Kenwood, Kentfield and neighboring cities and communities.
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