Clothes dryers get extremely hot throughout their running cycles, and pose many threats to the safety of your home and family. Lint traps and air ducts within the dryer itself become clogged and full of excess lint, which builds up over the course of many uses. As time goes on, the lint becomes built up more and more and, with the addition of very hot air rushing by it over and over again, the possibility of a fire starting becomes more and more real. It is extremely important to clean out your dryer vents and lint traps periodically to avoid fire hazards.
There are a few things to pay attention to when cleaning out your dryer vents. The first being the lint trap itself, which is in the beginning of the entire dryer duct. The lint trap is typically a screen which is removable and blocks lint, or at least a lot of it, from entering the dryer vents or ducts. This lint trap should be cleaned before every single cycle, not merely checked. Even if there is a small amount of lint accumulated on the screen, it is very important to clean it out thoroughly before running a new cycle in your clothes dryer. Doing this will keep the lint ducts and dryer vents cleaner and free of lint for a much longer period of time.
The next thing to look into when cleaning your dryer vents is the ducts beyond the lint trap. The lint trap works very well, yet is it not perfect in any way, so some lint will still pass through the small holes in the lint trap screen. This is okay, but over time can pose a massive fire hazard. As small amounts of lint are repeatedly deposited in the dryer vents, the amount slowly increases and becomes highly flammable. The hot air which constantly blows passed the lint dries it out and makes it even more prone to catching fire. This is where a dryer vent brush comes into play. Using a dryer vent brush, you can reach far back into the dryer vents and air ducts to help pull out any lint which may have accumulated over the years. Once removed, you may find your dryer to actually run better and consume less energy in the process. This is due to the increase in air flow and the reduction of restriction on the dryer itself.
Cleaning your dryer vents is as important as anything else in your home. Lint fires are some of the most common types of fires in households, and everything possible should be done to avoid them. It takes only a few minutes to clean out your dryer vents, and this should be done about once a week, along with a lint trap cleaning, which should be done before every cycle.
To find dryer vent cleaning kits to help you in cleaning, visit our store link at the top of our page.