Does it take too long for your clothes to dry When was the last time you had your dryer vent cleaned?
Lint and additional debris can build up in your clothes dryer vent and may cause your dryer to exhaust at less than optimum efficiency. This creates potentially hazardous conditions including carbon monoxide intrusion and the possibility for exhaust fires. If a gas clothes dryer is improperly vented or the exhaust duct itself is blocked by lint or debris, carbon monoxide can be forced back into your living space. When a technician inspects and cleans a dryer vent, they also verify that the correct type of duct is in use. For example, plastic transition ducts (joining the dryer to the wall) should be replaced with metal duct, because it is non-flammable, unlike plastic.
Annual dryer exhaust vent inspections (also known as dryer exhaust duct inpections) are more necessary than ever before due to the complex construction of homes built today. Newer homes tend to have dryers located away from an outside wall in bathrooms, kitchens and in hall closets which is convenient, but potentially dangerous from a safety standpoint. These new locations mean that dryers tend to be vented longer distances and vents are generally installed with more bends to accommodate the extended path they must take through the home. As a result, dryer ducts are harder to access and this additional length creates more places where lint can collect and animals and birds can hide. .
The Chimney Safety Institute of America recommends that dryer vents be inspected on an annual basis to ensure efficient operation of your clothes dryer system. In addition to these safety considerations, annual clothes dryer exhaust inspections can also increase the efficiency of your clothes dryer and decrease the wear on your appliance: Appliance Efficiency A clean exhaust duct prevents heat, moisture and, in the case of gas clothes dryers, carbon monoxide from being trapped in your home. When this type of spillage occurs, energy, natural resources and time are all wasted because your appliance works too hard and runs longer than necessary. Wear on Your Clothes Dryer If your dryer takes twice as long to dry clothes than it should, the number of loads that it will dry in its lifetime is cut in half. When the dryer runs at higher than designed temperatures, the life of your clothes dryer decreases even more. This can lead to the heating element burning out or a fire could ignite as a result of overworked safety controls.
Did You Know...
6 Fact About Clothes Dryer Exhaust Safety
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According to manufacturer's specifications and local codes, dryer ducts must be at least 4" diameter and at least as large as dryer outlet.
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Unless otherwise specified by your dryer's manufacturer, the developed length of your dryer's exhaust duct should not exceed 25 feet. (When determining developed length, each 90 degree turn adds 5 feet to the actual length.)
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Dryer vents shall be independent of all other systems and terminate outdoors, not into a chimney.
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Your outside dryer exhaust vent's termination hood should be equipped with a backdraft damper to ensure that the exhaust doesn't come back in your home.
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Metal transition ducts should be used between the dryer and the exhaust duct.
This is a Public Safety Bulletin from the Chimney Safety Institute of America
Clothes Dryer Fires - 16,000
Civilian Death - 360
Direct property damage - $194 million
in 2009
The leading factor contributing to
ignition ( of a clothes dryer vent )
was failure to clean
Our mission ... ...is to keep you safe. We want to prevent house fires and save lives. There are some 16,000 dryer vent fires a year. Let Hoosier Chimney Sweep and Dryer Vent Cleaning clean your dryer vent exhaust today.
To find your local certified chimney sweep www.csia.org
Give us a call to check and clean your dryer vent today .
Phone: 1-812-723-4284 - Toll Free: 1-877-488-4284
Some counties we cover in Indiana: Brown, Clark, Crawford, Davies, Dubois, Floyd, Gibson, Greene, Harrison, Jackson, Knox, Lawrence, Martin, Monroe, Orange, Owen, Perry, Pike, Scott, Spencer, Sullivan, Washington. Some of the major towns we cover in Indiana: Austin, Bedford, Bicknell, Bloomfield, Bloomington, Brownstown, Cannelburg, Cannelton, Carlisle, Charlestown, Chriseny, Clarksville, Cornettsville, Corydon, Crane, Ellettsville, Elnora, English, Ferdinand, French Lick, Greenville, Hardinsburg, Harrodsburg, Hazelton, Holland, Huron, Huntingburg, Jasper, Jeffersonville, Kurtz, Laconia, Leavenworth, Linton, Little York, Livonia, Lyons, Medora, Milltown, Mitchell, Monroe City, Nashville, New Albany, New Amsterdam, New Pekin, Oakland City, Oaktown, Odon, Orleans, Otisco, Paoli, Petersburg, Princeton, Rockport, Salem, Santa Clause, Scottsburg, Sellersburg, Seymour, Shoals, Spurgeon, Sullivan, Tell City, Vincennes, Washington, Worthington. Some other states we work in: Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, South Carolina.
