Do you ever wonder how to clean a dryer vent without expensive tools? It is possible! The answer might surprise you. You can clean your dryer vent with house tools like a leaf blower and some brushes.
Table of Content
How Often Should I Clean My Dryer Hose And Vent?
Even if you don’t have a problem with your dryer vent system, it is best to clean the entire length of the hose and duct every year. If your home does not have a lot of trees or bushes around it that could potentially cause problems for the vent, then cleaning may only need to be done once every couple of years.
What Clogs a Dryer Vent?
The biggest problem with dryer vents is lint. Lint can come from your clothing but it is also caused by the materials in your home, especially products like insulation and carpeting that are made of synthetic fibers.
If you notice that your clothes are taking longer to dry or there was a power outage while you were drying them, then this could be an indicator that the vent line has become blocked.
Steps To Clean The Dryer Vent Hose And Duct:
Prepare the Dryer Vent Cleaning Tool
To clean the dryer vent, you need a brush or an air compressor. The simplest thing that can work is to use your own leaf blower (if you have one). This option enables much easier cleaning than with other tools like vacuum cleaners and handheld brushes without dust bags. It will also help remove lint from areas where it’s hard for vacuums to reach; under the washing machine, around bends in hose ducts, etc., using powerful blasts of forced air which loosens the lint so it can be easily swept away by brushing out these parts later on.
Remove the Cover of the Vent
You can clean the vent from inside your house, but before you start make sure you turn off the power to it at your circuit breaker box. Next, remove its cover by unfastening any screws that might be holding it in place and set them aside somewhere safe.
Remove Lint With a Brush or Vacuum
Brush out as much loose debris as possible using a dryer vent cleaning tool (or even just an old toothbrush) until no more will come out of the duct.
Use Leaf Blower
Now you can insert your leaf blower into the vent pipe and turn it on. The air will come out of the opening at the back of your house so aim this carefully or consider putting some tape over that part to avoid any mess inside your home.
Leaving a little slack in between them, tie off each section’s excess with either duct tape or zip ties (or even both). Be sure not to leave too much room for movement though as lint will just fall through right past these then onto its way outside!
Finally, replace all covers back where they belong after cleaning is done making sure everything fits tight enough to hold securely but loose enough not to be completely sealed shut by their pressure alone. You might need an extra pair of hands to help you with this step.
Reassembling
Reassembling the dryer vent back together is the final step in this process.
Be sure to replace all covers, make any necessary adjustments or repairs, and reattach everything before turning your machine back on at last! Now you’re ready to go again with a clean lint trap too.
Now that you know how easy it can be to keep some house tools around for cleaning vents then hopefully there’s no reason not to do some maintenance work more often either. Not only will doing so save energy by allowing proper airflow but it’ll also help extend the life of your appliance as well which saves money over time too.
