Dryer Vent Cleaning in Ruston, LA
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Step 1 of 3: Equipment
Cold nights turn dryer lint into a stubborn problem
Your dryer pushes out warm, damp air every time it runs. Winter nights in Ruston average 37°F from December through February, and that cold reaches the walls of the vent running through your house. The warm air cools fast once it hits them, and the moisture it was carrying has to go somewhere. Lint riding along with that air sticks to the damp walls instead of blowing outside.
Once lint builds up along the vent, it narrows the path air needs to escape. The dryer has to work harder to push air through, and the moist air it is trying to clear has less room to get out.
- 37°F
- the average winter night, and cold vents catch damp lint
- 5 months
- November through March, the vent stays cold
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NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- How often should a dryer vent be cleaned?
- Once a year is the general rule. A vent with a long run or several bends can collect lint faster, so it may need a look sooner than that. If a load that used to dry in one cycle now takes two, that is the vent telling you it is due.
- Can I clean my dryer vent myself?
- You can clear the lint trap and the first few feet behind the dryer yourself with a vent brush kit. The harder part is the rest of the run, especially where it bends or passes through the wall to the outside hood, and a shop vac will not reach that far. A contractor has rods and a camera to clear the full length and check that the outside hood is opening and closing the way it should.
- What are the signs of a clogged dryer vent?
- Clothes that take two cycles to dry, a dryer that runs hot to the touch, and a burning smell during the cycle are the main ones. You may also notice weak airflow at the outside vent hood while the dryer runs, or lint collecting around the hood flap. Any one of these is worth checking, and more than one at a time means the vent likely needs clearing soon.