How to Clean Dryer Vents

As you may know through personal experience, lint can accumulate in the vent of a dryer. This lint can clog the vent and cause the dryer to become less efficient when it comes to drying clothes. Even worse, a clogged dryer vent increases the likelihood of a dangerous house fire. One way you can prevent a clogged vent is by cleaning the dryer vents on a regular basis. Here are a few tips that will help you clean your dryer vents.

Get Cleaning Supplies

The first thing you should do is get all the necessary cleaning supplies. Ideally, purchase or borrow a dryer vent cleaning brush kit. This kit will contain special brushes of different sizes for use in dryer vents. Contrary to common assumptions, a vacuum attachment will not work, because it will not be able to agitate the lint within the dryer vent enough to effectively separate the lint from the duct.

Lint Trap Filter

Once you've gathered all the necessary supplies, you should clean the lint trap filter. In fact, you should clean the lint trap filter after each and every load of clothes you dry. Use a brush to gently remove the lint from the filter screen. While most people only take this step, only cleaning the lint trap filter is not enough to keep the dryer vents clean.

Lint Trap Housing Cavity

The next order of business is to clean the lint trap housing cavity. This cavity is where the lint trap filter is kept. Use a brush with a long flexible fiberglass handle to clean the cavity. Extend the handle to the deepest part of the cavity and use a gentle, twisting motion to remove the lint. You can use a vacuum cleaner to remove the lint from the brush head.

Cleaning the Dryer Duct

In order to clean the dryer duct, you should disconnect the individual sections of the tubing to expose the lint. Before you do this, you need to unplug the dryer and turn off the dryer's gas valve. The duct joint that is closest to the dryer should also be disconnected. Use the brush kit to remove all the lint from the inside of the dryer duct and use the owner's manual that came with your dryer to put the individual sections of tubing back together again.