Dryer Vent Cleaning and Green Ideas from the Wizard of Mooresville

Dryer Vent Cleaning is a great, green idea. What is “going green”? Going green is a phrase referring to the individual action that a person can consciously take to curb harmful effects on the environment and save on energy consumption. Taking steps to conserve energy in the laundry room will save you money and prolong the life of your appliances.

The Green Clothes Dryer

The greenest of clothes dryers, of course, is the clothesline! Automatic dryers have been hailed as a miracle of modern housekeeping, but it came with a price; about 6% of the total energy used by Americans. Mother Nature provides the sun and breeze; this is free for us to use and it provides the fresh smell that people pay for in artificial products they purchase.

There are many positive benefits to using a clothesline; however, for most people, it just isn’t an option that will be considered over the convenience of the automatic clothes dryer. There are steps you can take to reduce the negative impact that clothes dryers have on the environment and your energy bills.

Lint is not GREEN!

The number one tip to operating a clothes dryer ‘in the green’ is to keep the lint filter clean. A clogged lint filter restricts air flow required to dry laundry, therefore, taking longer to dry each load and using up to 30% more energy!

Overloading

Drying only a few items at a time is inefficient and a waste of energy as the clothes dryer is made to dry a full load at a time. This does not mean overloading will be even more efficient though; overloading will reduce the amount of air needed to circulate and dry the laundry.

Proper Loading

Separate heavier weight items from lighter weight items before drying. This will avoid wasting energy over-drying the lighter weight items, while the dryer continues to run to finish drying the heavier items.

Automatic Cycles

Dryers are made more efficiently today, with automatic drying and cool down cycles. The auto-dry cycle stops the dryer when clothes are dry. The cool down cycle completes drying time with the remaining heat in the dryer to save energy. Both cycles prevent over-drying and clothes last longer.

Consecutive Loads

Time it so that you are doing one load after another; this will allow you to take advantage of the heat left in the dryer when you remove a load. Otherwise, the dryer is allowed to cool down completely between loads, making it work that much harder to heat up again.

Ventilation

When possible, open a window in the laundry room while the dryer is operating, to allow heat and humidity to escape. A closed up laundry area can become very humid, decreasing the efficiency of your clothes dryer.

Maintenance

Proper maintenance extends the life of your appliances and makes them operate more efficiently to save energy. Dryer vent and duct cleaning are important to maintain proper air flow and prevent the clothes dryer from overworking. Most importantly, dryer vent cleaning helps to prevent clothes dryer fires, which currently happen at a rate of about 15,000 per year.

A clothes dryer is a modern convenience that many of us refuse to be without. The price of energy consumed by clothes dryers is high, but there are steps one can take to reduce the cost. By taking the necessary steps to conserve energy in the laundry room, you will be rewarded with lower energy bills, your dryer will last longer, and so will your clothing. You will also be preventing the disaster of a clothes dryer fire where you could lose everything. A professional who specializes in clothes dryer vent systems will make sure your system is up to code and free from lint buildup.

Emilie Benvegna, owner of Dryer Vent Wizard, provides dryer vent cleaning, dryer vent repair, dryer vent installation and dryer exhaust services for homes and businesses in Mecklenburg County, Charlotte, Davidson, Concord, Huntersville, Pineville, Cornelius, Salisbury, and neighboring cities and communities.

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Dryer Vent Cleaning, Dryer Vent Repair, Dryer Vent Installation

Dryer Vent Cleaning is the number one defense against clothes dryer fires. Out of sight, out of mind is the reason dryer vent cleaning is often overlooked, but you really cannot afford to ignore this chore. Dryer lint screens only catch about 60-80 percent of the lint removed from laundry; the rest ends up trapped in the dryer exhaust system where it builds up and becomes a fire hazard.

Lint is highly flammable which makes it good fuel for a fire to spread throughout your dryer vent system and your home. As your dryer is working moisture and lint are removed from your clothes. The moist lint sticks to the sides of the dryer ducts and eventually builds up. Over time this reduces airflow, the dryer works harder and the motor overheats. This is a fire hazard and the cause of increased energy consumption.

Dryer Vent Inspection and Safety Tips

Clean the lint trap after every load of laundry even if there is only a small amount of lint on the screen. The lint should be dry; if it’s wet then there is an airflow problem most likely due to lint build-up in the dryer ducts. Wash the lint screen with soapy water every few months to remove residue from dryer sheets. Check the screen for tears.

Look for lint on the floor behind and around the dryer. If there is lint around the dryer then you need to have a dryer vent specialist inspect the system; this is a sign that it is time for dryer vent cleaning.

Go outside and inspect the dryer vent hood while the dryer is running to be sure it is opening and there is airflow. You should see it working; if not, then it is time for a good dryer vent cleaning and inspection.

If clothes are taking more than one cycle to dry this is a sign of restricted airflow. It is not a sign that the dryer is wearing out even if it is very old. Other signs of poor airflow are clothes having a moldy or smoky smell when they come out of the dryer or if laundry is very hot when you remove it.

More Safety Tips for the Laundry Room

Do not place clothes or rags soaked with flammable materials in the dryer even if they have been washed. Some combustible residue can remain on the fabric and cause a fire hazard. These items should be line dried.

Laundry rooms make great storage areas but do not store flammable chemicals like paint thinners or lighter fluid near the clothes dryer.

Never leave the house or go to sleep when the dryer is running.

Dryer Vent Cleaning and Maintenance

Dryer vent cleaning is recommended at least once a year. There are products you can buy to clean your dryer ducts including brushes with rods that can be attached to a drill but most of these products are only good for short, straight dryer ducts. If you have a run longer that 10 feet or one with elbows then it’s a good idea to call a dryer vent cleaning professional to do the job. A dryer vent repair and maintenance specialist will have the equipment needed to do the job right. Since most dryer exhaust systems are installed by homeowners many have problems that need to be addressed.

Dryer Vent Repairs and Alterations

A dryer vent professional can do a thorough inspection of your dryer vent system to be sure it meets current safety codes. Plastic or vinyl ducts should be replaced with rigid or semi-rigid metal. Depending on the location of your clothes dryer this can prove to be a big job, sometimes requiring tearing into a wall or ceiling.

Dryer vent cleaning, repair and proper installation are critical to preventing fires and ensuring your dryer exhaust system is working efficiently. The fee for this service is small compared to the loss of your home should you have a fire. In addition the money saved on energy bills and appliance repair bills is much more than the service charge for dryer vent cleaning and maintenance.

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Dryer Vent Cleaning: Don't Let Your Dryer Start a Fire!

Don’t Let Your Dryer Start a Fire! Keep Your Mooresville Home Safe and Sound

Most people have their furnaces cleaned regularly; however, very few people think of the clothes dryer in relation to appliance maintenance. According to the National Fire Protection Association over 15,000 dryer fires are reported each year. Failure to clean the dryer vent and duct system is the cause of most of these fires. Believe it or not, your clothes dryer is more likely to cause a fire than your furnace or stove! Dryer Vent Wizard recommends annual dryer vent cleaning.

Dryer Vent Cleaning Prevents Carbon Monoxide Poisoning in Mooresville

Besides being a fire hazard, improper dryer venting also poses a carbon monoxide risk. The dryer vent system removes gas by-products from your home if you have a gas dryer. Dryer Vent Wizard recommends a complete inspection of your dryer vent system to be sure it is functioning safely.

Dryer Vent Cleaning Reduces Energy Bills for Mooresville Residents
When a dryer vent and the dryer ducts are clogged with lint, air flow is restricted, causing your dryer to work harder and use more energy. This creates higher utility bills and a greater chance of the appliance breaking down. Appliance repairs and/or replacement can be expensive. You can prolong the life of your clothes dryer with proper dryer vent cleaning and maintenance. Dryer Vent Wizard provides dryer vent cleaning, maintenance, repairs, installation and dryer vent inspections for homes and businesses in your area.

Dryer Vent Cleaning Prevents Fires in Mooresville, North Carolina

A clothes dryer fire is caused by lint build-up which restricts airflow and leads to overheating. Dryers produce a lot of lint and simply cleaning the lint screen is not enough. Though the lint filter catches most of the lint, some will escape and end up in the dryer vent system. The dryer ducts remove lint and moisture from your clothes; the moist lint doesn’t always make it to the vent outside of your home. It can stick to the sides of the ducts where it builds up and eventually dries to a hard paste. This hard paste attracts more sticky lint, eventually creating a blockage which can cause a fire.

Dryer Vent Inspections and UL Safety Standards in Mooresville, NC
Underwriters Laboratories is an independent product safety certification organization that has been testing products for safety for over a century. Dryer Vent Wizard will inspect your dryer vent system to be sure it meets UL Safety standards in your community.

Dryer Vent Wizard of Mooresville Recommends Shorter Dryer Ducts

It used be that most clothes dryers were in the basement, on an outside wall, with a relatively short, straight vent to the outdoors. These days many newer homes tend to have their laundry area located away from an outside wall; some are on the second floor. This means dryer vents are much longer and contain some elbows and bends where lint can accumulate. They’re also harder to reach therefore more difficult to keep cleaned. The ideal dryer vent system is short and straight. Dryer Vent Wizard has special tools for reaching the hard to get to places.

Dryer Vent Wizard of Mooresville Uses Rigid Venting Material, not Vinyl

Dryer ducts should be made of rigid or semi-rigid metal, not the flexible foil or vinyl type that was used in the old days. The flexible vinyl type of tubing crushes easily and restricts air-flow. Dryer Vent Wizard professionally installs semi-rigid metal dryer vent systems in homes and commercial buildings.

Dryer Vent Wizard of Mooresville Inspects to Ensure Proper Installation

Dryer Vent Wizard does not advise use of sheet metal screws when attaching multiple sections of vent pipe together. They use foil tape instead to eliminate protuberances that cause obstructions where lint can accumulate, eventually leading to a restriction which hampers dryer vent cleaning and allows lint to build up.

Wash the Lint Screen to Remove Residue Build-up

Few people are aware that the dryer vent screen should be washed thoroughly with warm soapy water every few months to remove residue build up caused by dryer sheets. It is actually possible for the lint screen to have so much build-up on it that it will hold water! This definitely restricts air flow and causes the dryer to take more than one cycle to properly dry a load of clothes.

Bugs, Mice, Birds and Critters in Mooresville, NC

If you have mice in your house, you have probably called exterminators or tried your own critter traps to get rid of the pests. But this is just a temporary solution until more critters come in. The only effective way to get rid of them for good is to stop them from getting into your home in the first place. The one major path of entry that mice have into your home is the dryer vent.

Birds have been known to build nests in dryer vents which prevent lint from escaping. Bees, wasps and hornets nests have also been found in dryer vents. Dryer Vent Wizard recommends annual dryer vent cleaning and regular inspections to be sure the dryer vent system is free of clogs.

Dryer Vent Cleaning and Tips from Dryer Vent Wizard of Mooresville

Make sure your dryer vent system is up to city, state and manufacturer’s codes
Replace plastic or foil vent with semi-rigid or solid meta material
Keep the lint screen clean; check before and after each load
Wash lint screens with soap and water every few months to remove residue from fabric softener sheets
Have professional dryer vent cleaning done annually
Don't keep combustibles like chemical cleaning products or chemical laden rags near your clothes dryer
Don't leave the house or go to sleep with your dryer running
In cold weather, check outside vent cover to make sure it's not blocked or frozen shut

Dryer Vent Wizard of Mooresville Shares Warning Signs to Watch for

The dryer takes more than one cycle to get a load dry
No lint visible on lint screen
Dryer repeatedly stops during a cycle
Clothes have moldy smell after dry cycle
Clothes are very hot after a dry cycle

Dryer Vent Wizard of Connecticut is the dryer vent cleaning and repair expert to call for service. The service call is very little compared to the loss of your home or the lives of you and your family if you should experience a clothes dryer fire.

Please watch this video provided by Dryer Vent Wizard of Mooresville, NC

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/26507771#26507771


Dryer Vent Wizard of Charlotte, NC provides dryer vent cleaning, dryer vent repair, dryer vent installation, dryer vent inspections and all dryer vent services for homes and businesses in Cabarrus and Mecklenburg Counties, Charlotte, Concord, Huntersville, Kannapolis, Harrisburg, Matthews, Pineville, Monroe, Mooresville, Gastonia, Rock Hill, Fort Mill, Cornelius, Salisbury, Lake Norman, South Park, Indian Trail, Weddington, Waxhaw, Ballentyne and neighboring cities and communities.

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