Imagine waking up to smelling smoke in your room and finding out that your house is on fire and then later to find out that what the culprit is: your clothes dryer. This could have been prevented if you were able to notice the signs of a damaged dryer vent. The National Fire Prevention reported that over 15, 5000 homes in the United States have had fire experience because of this. The only way to avoid this is to have a proper and regular maintenance by calling professional like dryer vent cleaning Richmond VA.
What causes such malfunction? Debris, dirt, and lint can build up in your vent duct and dryer hose. This causes obstruction on the airflow. When this happens, the system exerts much effort to the point of overheating that potentially result in fire. So how would you know that you now need to clean and repair your dryer vent? Read the following:
1.Over a year of not cleaning your dryer vent
Proper maintenance includes cleaning your dryer vent twice or thrice a year. If you cannot achieve this, at least clean it once a year. This is to reduce the chances of carbon monoxide poisoning and other hazards like fire accidents. Remember to contact a professional.
2. The clothes, as well as the outside surface of the dryer, are hotter than the usual
When your clothes and the outside surface are hot, this means that your dryer is over-exhausting in order to function the way it is designed to. This is due to the clog, which requires your equipment to work twice the effort. Again, this will result in damage if this continues.
3.When your clothes take a long time to dry
This has many impacts. When the dryer vent is clogged, the drying process becomes longer, probably twice or thrice the original time. This is because clogging makes the equipment inefficient. When overheating continues, the equipment will become more susceptible to exhaustion and damage.
4. It is difficult to open properly the vent hood flap.
When the hood flap of the duct does not open properly, and you notice that the debris and lint are visible outside and around the opening, these are the signs that you now need a cleaning. It does not open because the airflow is blocked.
5. You will notice a burning smell when you use the equipment
Do you smell a burning odor whenever you use your dryer? The lint that is accumulated is very flammable. If it gets hot, it can create a fire that causes the burning odor. When this happens, stop using the equipment until further repair is made.
Conclusion
Maintaining your dryer vent is very important to avoid the risks of fire. Clean it at least once a year. There are many telltale signs that it needs cleaning like a burning smell, hotter clothing and surface, longer duration of heating process and the increase in the energy bill. Whenever you do inspection, cleaning, or repair, always contact professionals.
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