Dryer Vent Cleaning in Shelbyville, KY
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Step 1 of 3: Equipment
What Shelbyville winters do to a dryer vent
Your dryer pushes warm, damp air out through the vent every time it runs. From December through February, nights here average 26°F, so that warm air hits cold metal partway down the line and cools fast. The moisture in it beads up on the vent walls, and lint sticks to the wet surface instead of blowing on through to the outside.
Layer by layer that lint narrows the vent until the dryer cannot push air out the way it should. A vent that stays wet and clogged through a long heating season, October to April here, is doing that work for seven months straight.
- 26°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 for most households. If you run big loads often, or you have a long vent run with a lot of turns, once a year may not be enough and you will notice the dryer taking longer to finish. A contractor can look at your setup and tell you if your situation calls for more frequent cleaning.
- Can I clean my dryer vent myself?
- You can clean the lint trap and the first few feet of duct behind the dryer yourself. The rest of the run is harder to reach, especially if the vent goes up through a wall or across a long stretch to the outside, and a shop vac or a brush kit from a hardware store will not always get lint out of a bend. A contractor has rods and brushes built for the full length of the vent, including the hood outside where lint tends to pack in.
- What are the signs of a clogged dryer vent?
- Clothes that take more than one cycle to dry, a dryer that feels hot to the touch on the outside, or a burning smell when it runs are the main signs. You might also notice little to no airflow at the outside vent hood when the dryer is on, or lint collecting around the hood itself. Any of these mean the vent needs a look before you run another load.