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A white louvered exhaust vent mounted on dark navy vinyl siding, with a colorful sunset and bare trees visible in the blurred background.

Dryer Vent Cleaning in Suffolk, VA

Tell us about your home, and a licensed contractor who covers Suffolk will get in touch.

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It takes about a minute.

Step 1 of 3: Equipment
A gray louvered exhaust vent mounted on dark blue exterior house siding, with a tree silhouetted against a sunset in the background.

Cold vents make lint stick

Your dryer pushes out warm, damp air every time it runs. From December through February, Suffolk nights average 32°F, and that vent runs cold most of its length. The warm air cools fast once it hits that cold metal, and the moisture in it has nowhere to go but the vent walls. Lint sticks to a damp surface a lot easier than a dry one.

That buildup narrows the vent a little at a time. A dryer that can't push air out has to work harder to dry a load, and the heat it can't vent has to go somewhere.

32°F
the average winter night, and cold vents catch damp lint
7 months
October through April, the vent stays cold
Line illustration of a gray front-loading dryer next to a transparent wall, with a flexible duct running from the back of the appliance to a vent hood on the wall.
Your vent runs coldest from November through March.

NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals

How often should a dryer vent be cleaned?
A dryer vent should be cleaned before it collects enough lint to slow the airflow. Households that run the dryer daily will hit that point faster than ones that run a few loads a week. A contractor can look at the vent length and how it is routed and tell you what schedule makes sense for that house.
Can I clean my dryer vent myself?
You can clean the first few feet from the back of the dryer yourself with a vacuum and a brush kit made for the job. The rest of the run is harder to reach and harder to judge, especially where the vent turns corners or passes through a wall. A contractor has the tools to clean the full length and check that the vent hood outside is opening and closing the way it should.
What are the signs of a clogged dryer vent?
Clothes that take longer than usual to dry, or come out hot to the touch, are the clearest sign. Others are a burning smell during the cycle, the dryer running hot on the outside, and little to no airflow at the vent hood outside when the dryer is on. Lint building up around the lint trap slot or behind the dryer is also worth checking.
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