Dryer Vent Cleaning in Hampton, VA
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Step 1 of 3: Equipment
Cold vents make lint stick
From November through April, the air your dryer pushes outside is warm and full of moisture. Once it hits a vent run sitting in air near freezing, that moisture cools fast, and the lint riding along with it stops sliding through and starts sticking to the duct wall.
Layer by layer that lint narrows the vent until the dryer is pushing air through a smaller and smaller opening. That is what shows up as longer drying times, a dryer that runs hot to the touch, or exhaust you can smell inside the house instead of outside.
- 34°F
- the average winter night, and cold vents catch damp lint
- 6 months
- November through April, the vent stays cold
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NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- How often should a dryer vent be cleaned?
- Once a year is a good rule for most households. A vent full of lint restricts airflow, and that makes the dryer work harder and take longer to dry each load. If you notice drying times getting longer between cleanings, do not wait for the year mark to have it checked.
- Can I clean my dryer vent myself?
- You can clean the section right behind the dryer and the outside hood yourself, but that only reaches part of the vent. Most vents run several feet through a wall or ceiling before they reach outside, and lint builds up along the whole path, not just at the ends. A contractor uses a brush and vacuum sized for the full length of the duct, which gets at what you cannot reach from either end.
- What are the signs of a clogged dryer vent?
- Clothes that take more than one cycle to dry, a dryer that runs hot to the touch, and a burning smell are the main signs. You might also notice little to no airflow at the outside vent hood when the dryer is running, or lint collecting around the hood flap. Any of these means air is not moving through the duct the way it should, and that is worth having looked at.