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How often should you clean your dryer vent?
- Joe Grella
- Jan 24, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 17, 2024
The answer is different for everyone.
Laundry dryers are a key part of our every day lives and improve our productivity. Dryers account for nearly 6% of all consumer electricity usage and 2% of natural gas usage. On average, dryers account for 5% of an average household's annual utility cost.
Dryers use as much energy per year as a new efficient refrigerator, washing machine and dishwasher combined. U.S. consumers pay $9 billion annually to run dryers.
According to the NRDC, dryers are present in about 85% of American laundry rooms. These nearly 89 million appliances use almost 60 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. That's equal to the annual usage of the entire state of Massachusetts.
Cleaning your dryer vent is critical to the safe and efficient operation of your machine. It helps the environment, saves you money, shortens drying cycle times, and lowers your risk of a fire hazard.
In fact, the NFPA estimates an average of 15,970 home fires involving clothes dryers or washing machines each year. 92% of these involve clothes dryers, while 26% involved dust, fiber and lint in (clogged) dryer vents.
The process of cleaning or changing your dryer duct can be challenging and might require professional help. You may even inspect your vent and find that there is no lint accumulation.
The general guidance is to clean your dryer vent once a year to keep your machine working properly. It actually depends on a number of factors.
We found an article written by Lola Houlton of Homes & Gardens Magazine. Lola states the value of dryer vent maintenance. She notes 5 factors that cause blocked dryer vents.
Frequency of use
Fabric fibers create lint. During the drying process, moist hot air exits the dryer vent through a lint filter. The motion of the drum forms lint, which mixes with moisture and sticks to the dryer vent walls.
Drying more loads of laundry will require you to clean the vent more often. Keep count of how often you dry your clothes.
Type of usage
Using your dryer often for heavy or dense loads (i.e. towels) will make more lint than using your dryer to dry light loads, such as a single shirt. Other factors may include drying articles that contain pet hair, or using your dryer in a humid climate.
Dryer type
Natural gas dryers produce exhaust that can generate additional substance buildup in the vent. For this reason, gas dryers may require more frequent cleaning compared to electric dryers.
Vent length and configuration
Long dryer vents, as well as foil and semi-rigid ducting are prone to lint buildup than smooth wall vents.
Flexible vents will also be subject to excess lint at locations where the vent turns (i.e. elbows). Shorten the dryer vent run length and limit the number of turns when routing an exhaust vent. Be sure to consult building codes.
Dryer signs
Longer drying times
High dryer temperatures
Unusual smells, such as a burning smell
Pay attention to these warning signs as they raise the risk for a dryer fire or house fire. Always clean parts of the vent you can see, such as the filter near the dryer door or the exterior vent hood.
At Dexter, we have built the first home automation sensor that monitors dryer vents.
Add VentWatch into your laundry room to save both time and money. Track your dryer's energy usage and energy efficiency. Flow will alert you when to service the vent.
You can pair VentWatch with our optional iOS app. The app helps you to monitor dryer energy data and receive service reminders.
It can also notify you when your laundry is ready for pickup and pair you with dryer vent cleaning experts.
For more information, please visit: www.dextertechnologycompany.com
Some contents of this article were derived from Homes and Gardens
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