Jun 19, 2011
When was the last time..?
When was the last time that you checked your dryer vent & shaft for a lint blockage? On the news a few weeks ago we saw the results of a devastating fire caused by lint build up in a home clothes dryer. That reminded us that we had only once in the past eight years had our dryer vent checked. We use to do it on a regular basis when we lived in Vancouver. In fact when we lived in a townhouse complex for a few years the dryer vent clean out was an annual part of the maintenance. So we called in a professional and for $75.00 we now know that we have a clear vent shaft. Not only that but the fellow assured us that our dryer had been hooked up properly. Most of the dryers he sees have been improperly set up and are a fire hazard. Our system is so air tight that there was no lint behind the washer & dryer.
He disconnected the dryer from the shaft and inserted a bristle brush all the way to the roof vent all the while suctioning the pipe.
Because we are in Mexico half the year and we only use our dryer part of the year we will maintain it every second year. Well worth $35.00 per year for peace of mind and safety. On further investigation I discovered that the Province of B.C. has actually put out a safety alert……….
A dryer and the attached vent system requires regular cleaning and maintenance, just like your furnace or other fuel burning equipment. Lack of regular cleaning and maintenance of dryers and their attached venting systems, has been identified as causing fires.
Although lack of service can result in a fire hazard, improper dryer venting also poses a carbon monoxide risk on gas supplied dryers. The dryer vent system removes in addition to moisture, the gas by-products from your appliance to the outdoors.
When a dryer/venting system is clogged with lint, air flow is restricted, your dryer then has to work harder which leads to overheating. As the dryer ducts remove lint and moisture from clothes, not all of the lint is captured by the screen or makes it to the outdoors; this builds up on the sides of the vent system and eventually dries to a hard material. This material attracts more lint, where it eventually creates a restriction that leads to overheating, potentially resulting in a fire.
So I ask you once more, when was the last time you had your dryer vent checked for blockage?
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Yes cleaning and checking the dryer vents is a very good thing to do, I always did ours at least once a year.
I asked Stan that same thing a week or so ago. He said he cleaned it out about 2 months ago-glad that’s done!
wow, I never even knew that the vent should be cleaned out. I will ask around and see if someone in town here does something like that, thanks