An important way of preventing fires and maintaining a safe home is by getting the dryer vent cleaned. At times one may feel secure with the use of lint traps. However, it can capture only a fraction of the total accumulated lint. This means that the rest of the lint is still there and probably lining the inside of the vent. So it needs to be removed. A very easy way of detecting lint is to keep an eye out for excessive heat. The laundry room will seem hotter than usual, clothes will take more time to dry, humidity in the house will increase, and chances are that a burning smell may prevail. Lint, being a combustible substance, often lets out these signals for people to understand that it is time to clean the dryer vent.
Lint accumulates in bends and kinks of the tube just as much it does in the center and end. The dryer vent must be cleaned twice a year, or at least it should be checked to identify lint accumulation. Either a vacuum pump can be used, or the lint can be removed with hands. Lint accumulation mainly occurs near the end of the vent tube. However, lint also accumulates in the middle of the tube and professional expertise is required to remove it. Lint can suddenly accumulate in a large quantity if the dryer vent runs through a cold area. Professionals handle these situations with great care and fix these issues with utmost dexterity.
Let us see how a dryer vent is cleaned. First the dryer is unplugged. If it is operated with the help of gas, the gas is turned off, and moved away from the wall. With the help of a screwdriver, the dryer back is loosened. The lint is removed and flushed out from wherever it happens to be, and then the clamp is replaced. The dryer is then brought back to where it originally was. The vent cover that lies outside the house is now cleaned. The vent cover more often than not contains a lot of soot and dirt. It is scraped of the dirt so that it is not blocked, and the cover is replaced. The air flow is checked to see if it is unobstructed before turning on the dryer. These are necessary steps which, when performed in proper order, yields the best results.
This is an important routine for the smooth functioning and safety of any household.