Archived from the Tools In Action forum (Around The House). This thread is read-only.
Customer bought a new dryer and there clothes still didn’t dry. Found a hole in the wall and the 90 behind the dryer for some reason with flex shoved on. The wire screen is from the goose neck on the roof which was blocked solid. This is only a 14 foot run and it should be round pipe but a lot of drywall would have to be ripped out to change it. It was really bad towards the last few feet, tried my best to stick my phone in the goose neck on the roof to get a good pic. I put the 90 back together and the drywall piece was behind the dryer too so I tried to put that back. Clothes dry in no time now, I hope they can return the new dryer or sell it to someone. I think there’s about 15,000 dryer fires a year so make sure you keep your vents clean!!
Good advice man, so true.
I was at a place with pvc as the vent, I really didn’t have the knowledge or experience at the time to know what to tell the customer, but definitely don’t use pvc as dryer vent
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I went over to my daughter’s friend’s house once to check out their dryer. Turns out that they spilled fabric softener on top and it coated the entire lint trap. Once I got everything cleaned out, and the vent was blowing out serious air, the dryer still wasn’t drying. So I said “screw it” and bypassed the thermocouple. Yup, I know, bad news because it can cause a fire. But, it was only temporary until I picked up a new one. It baffled me that she’d spill fabric softener all over the joint, and not bother to clean it. That lint trap was coated from head to toe, there was so much shit caked on it that I had to bring it home and give it a serious cleaning. And I’d lay odds that it’s the reason why the thermo went out…dryer probably overloaded a long time ago, and they were running it without bothering to have it checked out. Luckily I can do this type of work, that dryer was almost as good as new.
Sad fact is that most people don’t know the fist thing about anything mechanical, electrical, etc., and that’s why things go south for people. Our vent goes from the middle of the house to out the back wall, and it’s a pretty good stretch. I don’t clean it often, but I do get in there with the leaf blower and shop vac often enough that I know it’s clean.
Which actually makes me think about yesterday, when I blew out under our fridge. In all honesty I’ve never even thought about it, but we had a water leak that I had to check out. Pulled the back off and saw just one big layer of dust. It really was just an un-Godly amount of shit in there. Pulled the air hose in and blasted the hell out of it. Made a mess in the kitchen but with the whole house fan on and a vacuum it was no problem. However, I knew in my head that the fridge could have died a long time ago with all that dust in there. Bad on me for not cleaning it before.
Man it’s been about a year now that I haven’t checked my vent out Thanks crew dryer fires are no joke!
That’s a crazy amount of build up in there.im pretty lucky that my run isnt very long,maybe 8 feet total length from dryer to outside, makes it simple to clean. We get alot of pet hair from our dogs on our clothes.
I was in a house fire a few years back the owner for the dyer vent used some sort of paper based tubing… Needless to say I didn’t feel sorry half of his house had to be rebuilt
Jimbo
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Man its insane how much lint those damn things create!!! I really wish they came out with a safer option to dry clothes.
My dryer vent is probably 20 ft long and goes underneath the bathroom floor. It’s made of flexible plastic tube reinforced with wire and it’s horrible. I can’t wait until I rip up the floor to put down tile so I can replace the flexi-hose.
Twice a year, I have to get out the flex brush and the drill and clean the entire thing out. If you haven’t ever cleaned the inside of a clothes dryer, you’d be amazed and horrified just how much lint gets trapped inside. We actually had a small fire a few years back that luckily didn’t get much past the smouldering stage, but now I clean it religiously.
Just another voice reminding people to clean out not just the vent but also the dryer itself.
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Great post Justin!
Fortunately my vent is only about 4′
Jimbo
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I really don’t pay attention to the dry venting, we have gas and it is ported directly straight outside the wall. vent is about 2 feet long with no curves. I’d be wondering if it was a gas dryer how much carbon monoxide is being pumped into the house which is just as bad a fire issues….
if you have any kind of ribbed dryer vent, its recommended you clean your dryer vent twice a year, the best is rigid piping, which is pretty much maintenance free,any housing inspector or code inforcer will say same. huge amount of fires are started every year because of dryer vents. if you can replace it with 4 inch rigid, do it
comp56 wrote:
5 hours ago, comp56 said:I really don’t pay attention to the dry venting, we have gas and it is ported directly straight outside the wall. vent is about 2 feet long with no curves. I’d be wondering if it was a gas dryer how much carbon monoxide is being pumped into the house which is just as bad a fire issues….
no harmful levels of carbon monoxide should be coming in house, if it is its improper install
Looks like a ton of lint
mohawkdec wrote:
22 hours ago, mohawkdec said:if you have any kind of ribbed dryer vent, its recommended you clean your dryer vent twice a year, the best is rigid piping, which is pretty much maintenance free,any housing inspector or code inforcer will say same. huge amount of fires are started every year because of dryer vents. if you can replace it with 4 inch rigid, do it
That’s the only way to go, if a rigid vent has a lot of turns it still collects lint. You should clean it once a year but there’s a million things we are suppose to do yearly and it never gets done.
khariV wrote:
On 3/4/2016 at 0:37 PM, khariV said:My dryer vent is probably 20 ft long and goes underneath the bathroom floor. It’s made of flexible plastic tube reinforced with wire and it’s horrible. I can’t wait until I rip up the floor to put down tile so I can replace the flexi-hose.
Twice a year, I have to get out the flex brush and the drill and clean the entire thing out. If you haven’t ever cleaned the inside of a clothes dryer, you’d be amazed and horrified just how much lint gets trapped inside. We actually had a small fire a few years back that luckily didn’t get much past the smouldering stage, but now I clean it religiously.
Just another voice reminding people to clean out not just the vent but also the dryer itself.
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That sucks, that plastic junk catches on fire just by looking at it.
KnarlyCarl wrote:
On 3/4/2016 at 9:31 PM, KnarlyCarl said:Good advice man, so true.
I was at a place with pvc as the vent, I really didn’t have the knowledge or experience at the time to know what to tell the customer, but definitely don’t use pvc as dryer vent
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Haha, I have seen a few done in pvc. Its smells wonderful when the dryer is on not to mention the lint sticks to the inside of the pvc from static electricity.
Like others had mention it is very important to take apart the dryer and clean all the lint out. The easy way is to take off the panel the door is attached to so you can clean the bottom of the dryer base and motor area and blower as well. Also where the lint screen is there is a lint trap on the bottom that has to get clean out. The worst one I cleaned had 2 inchs of lint on the base of the dryer, and the lint trap and blower were packed. I filled up a 5 gallon bucket just from the dryer alone the vent was another 5 gallons
Luckily ours is rigid from the wall, up to the attic, and all the way to the back of the house where it vents out. Our only real spot for anything to clog is the flex at the back of the dryer, and that’s a piece of cake to clean. Of course we’re all talking like everyone knows to do this, but in reality most homeowners wouldn’t know the difference between a screwdriver and an elephant.
Kato wrote:
On 3/5/2016 at 6:47 PM, Kato said:Luckily ours is rigid from the wall, up to the attic, and all the way to the back of the house where it vents out. Our only real spot for anything to clog is the flex at the back of the dryer, and that’s a piece of cake to clean. Of course we’re all talking like everyone knows to do this, but in reality most homeowners wouldn’t know the difference between a screwdriver and an elephant.
Hey they put money in my pocket, so I hope they don’t figure out an elephant is not a tool. But there’s so many things you are suppose to take care of on a yearly basis if you actually did all those things it would be a full time job.
That’s insane. They are so lucky that didn’t light up like a match. Nice job and thanks for posting.
It was scary when my dryer caught on fire this fall. The vent was clear but the insides of the Dryer were covered in lint
DR99 wrote:
It was scary when my dryer caught on fire this fall. The vent was clear but the insides of the Dryer were covered in lint
Woah yeah that’s a butt pucker moment for sure! I actually hung a fire extinguisher close by the dryer in the insane case one actually started, but it’s on an exterior wall and minimal piping directly to the outside, so the chance of it happening are slim, I know, but it’s an easy thing to install. And I keep it clean from the outside, easy to get to through the backdraft damper. My wife didn’t want the red clashing with the wall color so I put a white one up.
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Important note, don’t vent dryers in PVC and don’t reduce size. Try to use as little flex as possible.
DR99 wrote:
On 3/9/2016 at 10:36 PM, DR99 said:It was scary when my dryer caught on fire this fall. The vent was clear but the insides of the Dryer were covered in lint
That’s scary. Was it a gas dryer??
KnarlyCarl wrote:
On 3/9/2016 at 5:01 AM, KnarlyCarl said:Woah yeah that’s a butt pucker moment for sure! I actually hung a fire extinguisher close by the dryer in the insane case one actually started, but it’s on an exterior wall and minimal piping directly to the outside, so the chance of it happening are slim, I know, but it’s an easy thing to install. And I keep it clean from the outside, easy to get to through the backdraft damper. My wife didn’t want the red clashing with the wall color so I put a white one up.
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You can never be to safe. What color was the wall..lol
Yea it was a gas dryer. I caught it super early before the fire got really crazy
DR99 wrote:
4 minutes ago, DR99 said:Yea it was a gas dryer. I caught it super early before the fire got really crazy
We don’t have that many gas dryers here which is good because its crazy to have an open flame next to dryer lint. There’s just a sheet metal tube thats open in the front and the flame in the middle. If you open up a gas dryer you would see lint on top the tube singed as well as every were else in the dryer. Its more difficult for an electric dryer to catch fire, there would need to be a spark from the motor or else where to start a fire. A gas dryer should not be used imo, they do preform better than electric and cost less to run but what good is it if it burns the house down.
Reading this makes me want to take my dryer apart and clean it out. It’s new so I am most likely good for a little while though. I’ll check it out in a couple of months.
nordraw wrote:
12 hours ago, nordraw said:Reading this makes me want to take my dryer apart and clean it out. It’s new so I am most likely good for a little while though. I’ll check it out in a couple of months.
Yea, it should be done once a year, but it depends on your usage if you dry clothes everyday you might won’t to do it every 6 months.
Hey guys you should check out this product called Lint Alert. I forgot to mention it before but it is cheap insurance to prevent fires.
To a few, dryer vent flames may feel like a silly dread, however garments dryers represent a huge number of house fires a year. Inability to clean the dryer may put your home in danger of genuine harm to your property and home. On the off chance that your dryer vent hasn’t been cleaned in for a spell, you could be in danger.
How would I know whether my dryer vent needs cleaning?
Numerous instances of dryer vent fires happen in light of the fact that individuals don’t generally have a clue how to recognize the signs that their dryer vent needs cleaning.
1. You’re seeing an expansion in drying time.
On the off chance that your dryer vent is obstructed with build up, sodden air remains longer in the dryer which makes it difficult for your garments to get dry. In case you’re finding that your garments simply aren’t dry after a standard cycle, you presumably need your dryer vent cleaned.
2. Dryer is beginning to overlook a consuming scent.
On the off chance that you begin to smell a scent from your dryer, it’s most probable dryer build up. At the point when build up or flotsam and jetsam amasses in your dryer, there’s an expanded danger of fire or other negative impacts.
3. There is a development of dryer build up.
On the off chance that you see build up around the opening of the dryer, the vent framework should be cleaned.
4. Dryer is hot outwardly.
At the point when the dryer can’t deplete air appropriately, the dryer will feel hot to contact toward the finish of a typical cycle.
When would it be advisable for me to get my dryer vents cleaned?
To ensure you, your family, and your home or business, we suggest that you have your dryer vent cleaned by an expert at any rate once every year.
In addition to the fact that it is imperative to wipe out your dryer’s build up trap, yet additionally it is essential to have your garments dryer vent cleaned to expel combustible trash, for example, dryer build up, winged creatures home, and pieces of clothing.
The advantages of a dryer vent cleaning incorporate diminished drying time, decreased service charges, increment dryer productivity, and forestalls dryer fires. A standard cleaning can likewise improve indoor air quality notwithstanding dryer effectiveness and vitality investment funds.
In the event that a stopped up dryer vent forestalls appropriate ventilation, carbon monoxide can be delivered into the home. The monoxide hole could put a few regions of your home in danger.
The Dryer Vent Cleaning Procedure:
The dryer conduit administration that we offer is a cleaning of the whole dryer exhaust framework. This incorporates everything from the rear of the dryer, such a distance out to the terminal top outside. Our CDET (Guaranteed Dryer Fumes Expert) will slide the dryer off the beaten path, evacuate the progress pipe, which is the piece that interfaces the dryer to the primary sheet metal channel in the divider. We will hand clean the change conduit piece, and afterward clean the whole length of the lasting sheet metal channel that drives right to the outside.
This cleaning is finished with a mix of our powerful vacuum and our high-compelled air instruments. We will append our powerful vacuum to one finish of this pipe; when the vacuum is turned on, it will put this channel under pull. While the channel is under attractions, we will take care of our particular air apparatuses through the conduit, driving all the build up and different flotsam and jetsam back to the vacuum association. All the garbage will be sucked out and gathered in the vacuum. The air apparatuses will be taken care of all through the whole pipe, paying little mind to its length or number of turns.
When all the build up and different flotsam and jetsam has been expelled, we will go outside to wipe off the terminal top, and bug watch also. We will likewise ensure the terminal top opens and closes appropriately. On the off chance that a client doesn’t have a terminal top or nuisance monitor, one can be introduced for them while we are there. When the cleaning is finished, we reconnect the dryer, and set up it back. The last advance is to cycle the dryer to ensure it is depleting appropriately before we leave. For security and proficiency reasons, we suggest having your garments dryer vent cleaned at any rate once per year to forestall fires and broaden the life of your garments dryer.
We likewise offer Bug Monitors that are intended to fit over garments dryer and washroom exhaust vents. This assists with keeping winged animals and rodents from entering your home through the vents.
Very useful information. We try to constantly clean the drain of the washing machine, ventilation, dryer. We fix everything that is needed. Then the technique works longer, and the chance of some kind of trouble is lower.