Off Topic Poll- Clothes Dryer Maintenance

How often do you clean out your dryer/vent?

  • Religiously every 6 months?

    Votes: 4 16.7%

  • Once a year?

    Votes: 13 54.2%

  • What, you're supposed to clean that out?

    Votes: 6 25.0%

  • Stomp, you're a sex machine

    Votes: 1 4.2%
  • Total voters
    24
  • Poll closed .
stomp

stomp

Administrator
Staff member
Over the holidays, I usually pull the clothes dryer out from the wall and vacuum out the vent from either end. The duct work has a couple of 90 degree bends and, being stupid and lazy, I hadn't pulled it apart in like forever to clean it out entirely. (I know @maytagman would not be cool with this) I'm glad I did a deeper dive this year! A five foot run of pipe was entirely clogged with lint. To really amp up the chances of a fire, I found a small package of wooden matches in amongst the lint. I'm not sure how a box of matches made it through the lint trap??

@Mrs. Stomp said "like who ever cleans out their dryer vent?". So, I thought I would poll the 6-8 community:
 
Like hvyhaul said. Trap every load, pipe once a year. Made sure to swap out the flexible 'accordion' type pipe and installed smooth galvanized type. Also clean out the exterior vent 2 - 3 times a year
 
Skunked2Often said:
Like hvyhaul said. Trap every load, pipe once a year. Made sure to swap out the flexible 'accordion' type pipe and installed smooth galvanized type. Also clean out the exterior vent 2 - 3 times a year
Click to expand...
Cant explain the matches still being intact after going through the blower? 2nd the previous advice, starting at the dryer make every connection male - female, use no screws, hvac foil tape only (unlike duct tape its impervious to heat). Each 4" 90* is equivalent to 10' straight pipe, keep it short as possible... any vent run longer than 2' should not be flexible.
 
fishstalker said:
Clogged vent effects temperature and drying time, and extremely hazardous
Click to expand...
Clogged vent leads to overheated housing which opens (burns) the thermal fuse and requires servicing to heat again, prior to failing it costs you a small fortune to dry clothes. When selecting normal (automatic dry) the machine continues to cycle as long as it takes to dry the load. A normal load should dry in 45-50 minutes on time dry....if it does not time to start checking for issues.
 
Whenever something important fell behind ours and i have to move it. I did tie on a dandy last night, can't remember if I altered this post 😂
 
Well, I guess I have another couple of jobs to add to the honeydo list that has been growing the past 3 months when fishing was priority 1. We have 2 laundry rooms, ours and my daughter's apartment downstairs. Every new years day I change the batteries in the smoke alarms and check the connections in the breaker box. Time to get at it I guess.
 
Well crap! Now I have to clean it.

Lint trap every load and pipe I can get from outside as its less than a foot straight run. Usually do it in the fall when I clean up outside.

Thanks Stomp
 
Thanks for the reminder Stomp.
Oh and change those smoke detector batteries and the thermostat battery
 
My gas dryer is on the main floor so is vented right through the wall. The run is only like 6 inches once the flexible aluminum pipe is compressed into the wall. The lint still builds up on the wire screen outside that prevents birds from getting in so I take that off and clean it a couple times a year. My wife cleans the lint screen inside the dryer out all the time.
 
Went and pulled out dryer while still fresh in mind. Vacuumed behind and I am able to vacuum tube and vent from outside with shop vac as it is only 2' foot long.
 
You could string all laundry up on an outdoor, dryer vent friendly clothes line. Just sayin
 
GPS said:
You could string all laundry up on an outdoor, dryer vent friendly clothes line. Just sayin
Click to expand...

My mom used to refer to that as the solar powered clothes dryer.....maybe she was on to something.
 
I grew up with a wringer washer and clothes line, even in the winter, typing this brings back the fresh smells in the house when
we had to hang them to finish.
 
Being a volunteer fireman I have experience a number of calls to dryer fires over the past 38 years. Cleaning the lint trap every load, good idea. Cleaning the duct work and exterior vent once a year or more often depending on the length of ducting is very important, especially with corrugated plastic piping. Taking the dozen metal screws out that hold the back on the dyer and checking where the lint goes before it is blown into the duct work might be worth checking also. Probably not every year but worth having a look if never done, especially if the dryer is older. I decided to do this a few years back to our old dryer after responding to a dryer fire call. Couldn't believe the crap that I found in there. Use to work in construction. A good quantity of lint, along with a hand full of small screws, bolts, nut, washers and enough dimes to buy a Tim Horton's coffee. If you have never done this it might be worth a look especially if the duct work has been plugged up. It's not difficult, a battery drill makes it pretty easy. The dryer fires I've seen have always started int the back of the dryer, then either caught the clothes in the dryer on fire or came out the back of the dryer into the duct work catching the home on fire. Fire Marshall's office puts dryer fires right up there with candles left unattended and cooking fires.
 
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