Are your clothes taking longer to dry than usual? Does it smell like something's burning in the laundry room? Is the top of yourdryertoo hot to touch after you put in a load of laundry? If you answered yes to any of these questions, it's time for a routine maintenance on your dryer vent. Warning signs like these are common indications of a dirty or clogged dryer vent that can potentially put your home at risk of afire.
当地消防部门在美国responded to nearly 14,000 fires involving dryersper year from 2014-2018. And about one-third of the fires were caused by clogged dryer vents — full of lint, dust and fiber. Combine those clogged vents with hot air and it's easy to see how fires get started.
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That's whyRuss Dimmitt, director of education at theChimney Safety Institute of America, a nonprofit educational institute that trains and certifies chimney and dryer exhaust technicians, recommendsdryer vent cleaningannually.
"If your clothes start taking longer to dry than they have been and progressively get longer and longer, that's indicative that the vent is beginning to plug and you're losing airflow," Dimmitt says. "Airflow is an important part of the clothes drying properly."
When was the last time you cleaned your dryer? If the answer is "a while" or "never," here's how to clean a dryer vent,according to Home Depotand足总mily Handyman.
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