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Cleaning your dryer ducts

The pipe your dryer lint gets sucked into can sometimes get stuck with your clothes. When this occurs, the flow of air from your dryer is blocked and can cause long drying times, incomplete cycles keeping your clothes wet, failures of automatic sensors and even fires. Because of this, it is important to keep your dryer duct clean to avoid problems. You can hire a professional to clean it for you, but this is can become expensive. If you want to save money, you can clean the ducts yourself using little time and energy.

Instructions

  1. Unplug your dryer and detach the duct from the wall. Sometimes, they are joined by a connector that can be squeezed to release.
  2. Remove the detachable part of the duct so it’s easier to clean. Insert the wand tool of your vacuum cleaner to suck inside your duct. You can also use a brush if you prefer.
  3. Also vacuum the tube, which connects the vent from the dryer to the wall.
  4. Put the pieces of your dryer back together and connect the duct back to the wall from the dryer
  5. Repeated cleanings every one to three months

Tips & Warnings

  • Use your vacuum and your crevice tool to vacuum any accumulated lint trapped in the dryer or in other areas that you can’t easily access. This will also help prevent problems with the dryer.
  • The detachable part of the dryer ducts should appear to be covered with vinyl or sheet metal.
  • For particularly dirty or clogged ducts, consider replacing the pipe with a new one. These can be purchased at your local home improvement store and are quite cheap. Depending on the material you choose, the cost will vary.
  • Once every one to three years, hire a professional to clean your dryer completely and breathing system to keep you safe.