Dryer Vent Cleaning in St. George, UT
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Cold nights turn lint into a wall inside your vent
Your dryer pushes out warm, damp air, and that air has to travel through a vent that sits in a cold attic or against a cold wall for part of its run. On a winter night here, with temperatures down around 28°F, that warm air cools fast once it hits the metal. Moisture beads up on the inside of the vent, and lint sticks to it instead of blowing through to the outside.
Over a season that runs October through May, that buildup thickens layer by layer. A vent that is narrowing from the inside makes your dryer work harder to push air out, and it gives a spark or a hot motor something to catch on.
- 28°F
- the average winter night, and cold vents catch damp lint
- 8 months
- October through May, the vent stays cold
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- How often should a dryer vent be cleaned?
- Once a year for most households. Lint builds up inside the vent line whether you see it or not, and it collects fastest in the bends and where the vent meets the outside hood. Homes that run the dryer more than most, or have a longer vent run to the outside wall, are worth checking more often than that.
- Can I clean my dryer vent myself?
- You can clean the lint trap and the first few feet behind the dryer yourself, and you should do that often. The rest of the run is harder to reach, especially if it bends through walls or goes up through the roof, and a shop vac or a flexible brush from the hardware store often just pushes lint further in instead of pulling it out. A contractor uses a rotating brush and a vacuum sized for the full length of the vent, which gets to what you can't reach.
- What are the signs of a clogged dryer vent?
- Clothes that take longer than one cycle to dry, a dryer that runs hot to the touch, and a burning smell when it's running are the main ones. You might also notice the outside vent hood flap barely moves, or doesn't open at all, when the dryer is on. Lint gathering around the lint trap door or behind the dryer is another sign the line is backed up further down.