Do you ever really think about dryer duct cleaning?
Did you know that clothes dryers account for almost 12,000 fires that cause numerous deaths and injuries annually, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission? They also recommend that the interior of the dryer be cleaned periodically by a qualified service person to minimize the amount of lint accumulation.
These recommendations are based on the way dryers work. Clothes dryers require an open pathway to vent the hot air, moisture and gases resulting from drying clothing. This pathway, the dryer duct, can become blocked by lint accumulation due to any of several factors that can include normal lint buildup over time, a duct that is too narrow or too long, or a duct with too many turns in it. Sometimes there can be a mechanical blockage such as a bird nest in the duct. In any case, the duct must be cleaned in order to exhaust the approximate one-gallon of water per average laundry load.
Most dryer manufacturers, such as Maytag, recommend that residential dryer ducts be cleaned every year or two for fire prevention and energy saving reasons.
When the duct is blocked, the dryer continues to run, wasting electricity and not allowing the clothes to dry. You may hear a series of clicks as the dryer control turns the heat on and off repeatedly, trying to compensate for the problem.
To determine if it really is a problem with the duct and not a mechanical issue, simply pull the dryer out a few inches and see if disconnecting the flexible connection from the wall allows the dryer to begin acting normally. If your dryer now works properly, you have a blocked dryer duct.
We clean these dryer ducts a number of ways. One spinning device we use is similar to a drain snake, but much more gentle on the duct. Then, as needed, we remove the loosened lint or other debris using a large vacuum. In most cases it doesn’t take long and we leave your laundry room clean.
Since 1978, Action Duct Cleaning been recognized for their residential dryer duct expertise. For further information or a free estimate, contact us today
