Dryer vent fires: the warning signs and how often to clean
Clothes dryers cause thousands of fires a year and most of them come down to lint in the vent.
The U.S. Fire Administration estimates thousands of clothes dryer fires every year in residential buildings, and the leading cause is failure to clean. Lint is combustible, the heating element in a dryer runs at several hundred degrees, and a restricted vent traps hot, lint-laden air exactly where the heat is.
Warning signs
Clothes take longer than one cycle to dry. The dryer or the laundry room is hot to the touch. There is a burning smell. The outside vent flap does not open when the dryer runs, or lint is visible around it. The lint trap fills faster than usual (a sign the vent is backing up). Any one of these means the vent needs cleaning now.
Why Puget Sound vents clog faster
A lot of local homes vent through the roof (townhomes especially) or through long crawlspace runs, and both are worse than a short straight run out the wall. Lint has to travel upward or through several elbows, and damp air from our climate makes lint stick to the duct wall instead of blowing out.
How often
Once a year for a family that does laundry daily. Every two years for a light-use household. Immediately for any of the warning signs above. It is a small job and it is the cheapest fire insurance you can buy.
Need it handled?
Full-length vent cleaning from the dryer to the outside cap, with airflow measured before and after. Dryer Vent Cleaning · (206) 434-0779
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