We usually depend on companies to keep our indoor air quality pure by hiring them for their air duct cleaning, furnace cleaning, and vent cleaning services to keep the fungi and bacteria in the air from invading our house. Theres one vital step we must do ourselves that some don’t think about when they consider the cleanliness of their vents.
Although clothes-dryer vents do not play a huge role in the air quality of our homes, ignoring them can cost you your entire home. Many people don’t worry about their house catching on fire while they’re doing their daily laundry routine, although lack of dryer vent cleaning is the leading cause of clothing dryer fires, being responsible for 34% of those.
Dryer vent cleaning is a responsibility of every home-owner – or should I say whoever does the laundry in the house. It is vital to clean the dryer vent before and after drying each load of laundry. This step only takes about 5-10 seconds, and it’s extremely easy. If it gets too full, the lint build-up can overheat and result in your dryer catching fire.
If you are unfamiliar with dryer vent cleaning, no problem. Let’s save you from experiencing a chaotic disaster in your home. The dryer vents in a clothes dryer are generally located just between the outer rim of the dryer, beneath the door. All you need to do is pull the flat, mesh panel out of the slot and run your hand from top to bottom of it, straight into the trash in order to clear out the lint build-up.
It is crucial to make this a habit before and after each load of laundry, because clothes give off lots of dust and lint during each load. As the dryer heats up to do its job, so does that lint.
The dryer vent cleaning step is often neglected and can lead to a disaster that will require purchasing an entirely new clothes dryer and possibly as much as a whole renovation of your house. Since the dryer vent is usually out of obvious sight, many don’t remember to clean it each time they do the laundry, or even at all.
If you have trouble remembering to keep your dryer vent cleaning in check, there are ways you can easily create a reminder to assure you don’t forget this necessary step. You could write yourself a sticky note and place it in a spot that will catch your eye every time you do the laundry, such as the ‘start’ button on the dryer, or set a reminder on your phone at the usual time you do laundry. Once it becomes second-nature to you, you’ll never forget this step ever again, and you can save yourself from the trauma of seeing your favorite clothes burnt to a crisp.
An accident that is so easily-preventable can save you from finding yourself scrambling to earn extra funds to fix your house, so don’t ignore dryer vent cleaning!