Our Company Blog

Now’s the Time for a Dryer Vent Cleaning

Did you know that one of the most dangerous fire hazards in your home is not the kitchen stove, the furnace, or the fireplace? The most dangerous hazard in your home is your clothes dryer! It is one of the most dangerous systems in your house because it is often overlooked.

If you hire a cleaning service, the housekeeper will only clean readily accessible parts of your house. If you hire a repairman for your clothes dryer, he may work on your unit and never give your dryer vent a second thought. The dryer vent is actually where the damage lies! Your clothes dryer vent is how the unit vents out excess heat and lint. Over time, this ductwork can get clogged with lint and eventually obstruct airflow. This is a dangerous hazard to any home with a clothes dryer, and you should schedule a dryer vent cleaning to avoid dangers.

Clothes Dryer Fires

dryer unitIn the U.S., over 50 percent of homes have a clothes dryer. However, only a handful of homeowners will have a professional installation and cleaning for their clothes dryer vents. Each year, there are nearly 3,000 home clothes dryer fires reported, resulting in about 5 deaths, 100 injuries, and $35 million in property loss, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. However, these fires are preventable.

Thirty-four percent of these fires are because of the failure to clean the dryer unit, which means 1/3, or about 1,000, of these annual fires, are completely preventable. At Chief Chimney Services, we agree that even one accidental fire is one too many. Since clothes dryer fires peak in January, we’re determined to reach as many customers as possible this summer. We want to clean out dryer vents throughout our service area to keep homeowners and their families safe.

Signs You Need a Dryer Vent Cleaning

When your dryer isn’t working as well as it once did, it’s time to schedule a dryer vent cleaning. Many homeowners repeat a cycle until the clothes are dry and think nothing of it, chalking it up to an old unit. This is a dangerous assumption! According to professionals, if your clothes dryer takes more than a normal cycle to dry a load and it’s less than 5 years old, it likely has a clog. If you have had your clothes dryer for more than a year, if you’re not sure how old it is or how long you’ve used it, or if it takes more than one cycle to work, it’s time to schedule a cleaning. Some other reasons to schedule a cleaning include:

  • Lint and condensation cover surfaces in your laundry room or home
  • The termination hood is clogged with lint or doesn’t work properly
  • The lint trap is periodically empty of lint
  • The dryer unit or the clothes themselves are excessively hot to the touch
  • Running the dryer creates heat in your home

Running a dryer with clogged vents is costing you money. It costs more to cool your home, costs more to run multiple cycles, and it shortens the life of your unit. Don’t put your family at risk or waste your money any longer! Call Chief Chimney Services today or schedule online.

By John Pilger on July 30th, 2019 | Tagged with: Tags: , , | Comments Off on Now’s the Time for a Dryer Vent Cleaning