When was the last time you cleaned your clothes dryer’s vent? Like most people, you probably clean the lint screen regularly, but beyond the lint screen your dryer has a vent hose that carries hot air, humidity and more lint to the outside. Over time, that vent hose can become clogged with lint.
It’s quite common to forget the dryer vent but here are four reasons you should remember it:
A clean dryer vent will help your clothes dry faster
- When the vent is clogged, the dryer can’t remove the moisture-packed air as fast; this means one cycle may not get your clothes completely dry. A clean vent will allow you to dry a load of laundry in one cycle, saving you time.
A clean dryer vent saves energy
- If your clothes dry faster, you will use less energy. Dryers consume lots of energy (either electricity or gas) to dry your laundry. Reducing the run time naturally reduces the energy consumption and saves you money on energy bills.
A clean dryer vent will extend the life of the dryer
- When your dryer vent is clean, the dryer works more efficiently. It runs less and does the job with fewer cycles. This will extend the life of the dryer, giving you more years of performance without the worry of replacement costs.
A clean dryer vent reduces the risk of fire
- When the vent is clogged with highly flammable lint, the danger of a vent fire is high. According to consumer reports, approximately 15,000 fires start in the laundry room every year. Most of these fires are caused by excess lint in dryer vents. Not only are these fires costly, but they are life-threatening
The next time you put clothes in your dryer, ask yourself when you last checked the dryer vent. It can save time and money – and prevent a disaster.
If you would like to know more about this issue, please contact the professionals at Donald P. Dick Air Conditioning. We’ve been serving the Fresno area for nearly 40 years.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about dryer vents and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Donald P Dick Air Conditioning services the greater Fresno area in California. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!