Dryer Vent Cleaning in Carrollton, GA
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Step 1 of 3: Equipment
Cold vents pull lint out of the air and stick it to the walls
Your dryer pushes out warm, damp air every time it runs. From October through April, that air is hitting a vent that sits cold inside a cold house, with winter nights here averaging 34°F. The warm air cools fast once it hits that metal, and the moisture in it has nowhere to go but back onto the walls of the vent. Lint sticks to a damp surface far more than it does to a dry one.
Once lint builds up along those walls, the vent can't move air the way it should. A partly blocked vent traps heat and moisture behind it, and that is where lint fires start.
- 34°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 general rule. Lint builds up inside the duct whether the outside hood looks clogged or not, so the yearly cleaning matters even if you haven't noticed a problem yet. A contractor can check the full run and tell you if yours needs it sooner.
- Can I clean my dryer vent myself?
- You can clean the part you can reach, but that's usually not the whole job. Pulling the dryer out and clearing the first few feet of duct, plus the outside hood, is worth doing on your own. Most vent runs travel through walls or ceilings to reach the outside wall, and a rod-and-brush kit run from both ends is the only way to get lint out of the middle of that run. A contractor doing this uses equipment made to clear the full length without damaging the duct.
- What are the signs of a clogged dryer vent?
- Clothes taking longer than one cycle to dry is the clearest sign. Others include the dryer or laundry room getting noticeably hot while it runs, a burnt smell during the cycle, and little to no airflow felt at the outside vent hood when the dryer is on. Lint collecting around the dryer drum door or the outside hood flap not opening properly are also worth checking. Any of these on their own is reason enough to have the vent cleared.