10 Signs that your Dryer is Clogged
Are you noticing your clothes are not dry when it goes through a drying cycle? Is it the top of your dryer getting to hot too touch or when you get your clothes out of your dryer, they are too hot to touch? This may be a sign of you having a dryer vent that is starting to get clogged, which could lead into a potential fire hazard.
Longer drying cycles:
The number one most common sign of the dryer vent being clogged. If your dryer is not drying your clothes in one drying cycle you must constantly put your clothes through multiple drying cycles. This is a sign of the air flow from your dryer vent being restricted and the amount of lint buildup that is in your dryer vent pipe is not allowing the dryer to properly vent outside. Costing you higher energy bills, your dryer will wear out quicker than normally and is a potential fire hazard to your home or business.
Overheating of the dryer:
If your dryer is hotter than normal this could be a sign of a clogged dryer vent. When you turn your dryer on to dry your clothes it puts those wet clothes into a drying cycle by putting warm air inside the moving drum of the dryer. That warm air needs to exit the outside of your home or business if you have a clogged dryer vent. That warm air cannot escape like it was designed to do. What will happen is the warm air that was designed to exhaust outside will get reversed and push back towards the dryer and will increase the temperature of the dryer and throwing off error codes.
Burning smell:
If you smell like something is burning while your dryer is running its drying cycle, this could be a sign that you have a clogged dryer vent pipe. If this happens you should stop using the dryer immediately and call her professional appliance company or a professional dryer vent cleaning company to check out the situation.
Musty smell:
When your dryer smells musty while it is running through its drying cycle, this also could be a sign that your dryer vent may be clogged.
Lint trap:
You should be cleaning your lint trap out after every cycle, neglecting to clean your lint trap out can result in your dryer's not functioning properly. When your dryer is running that lint trap traps lint particles and over time if you neglect cleaning it out the lint particles start building up and eventually air will be restricted from passing through the lint trap like it was designed to. This also can throw error codes on your dryer vent and act like you have a clogged dryer vent.
Your dryer vent cap louvers outside are not opening:
Your dryer vent cap louvers outside is not opening properly or could be blocked by an object or an overgrown tree branch or shrub blocking the dryer vent cap louvers from opening. This also will cause your dryer to not dry your clothes properly.
It has been over a year since the dryer vent has been cleaned:
It has been well over a year since your last dryer vent cleaning or you cannot remember the last time you had it cleaned, or you just recently purchased a home and do not know if the dryer vent has ever been cleaned. You should have a dryer vent cleaning company out to perform this service and be put on annually dryer vent cleaning service plan.
Dryer warning light error code is on:
Some dryers will indicate a warning light, each error code indicates that there is a problem with your dryer. Depending on the error code it gives each error code is for something different.
Higher energy bills:
Your dryer is not the most expensive part of the utility bill, however having to put your clothes through multiple cycles could double that part of the utility bill.
Excessive lint behind your dryer:
When you discover excessive or more than usual dryer lint behind your washer and dryer on the walls on the back of the dryer and washer this is another sign you have a clogged dryer vent.
In conclusion:
We now know that there are over 15,000 dryer vent fires in the United States every single year. We also know that 80-90% of all home fires are caused by lint build-up being the number one cause of the fires being started. Preventing a potential dryer vent fire in your own home, by getting your dryer vent cleaned out once a year by a professional dryer vent cleaning company that specializes in this service. Also every so often check the outside of your dryer vent cap to make sure nothing is blocking it from opening like overhanging tree branches or bushes. We also need to clean our dryer lint trap after every dry cycle and occasionally scrub the screen with soap and water and then let it dry before the next load is put in. By following these steps, in getting your dryer vent cleaned out annually which is also recommended by the EPA. You can rest assure that you're not going to have any restricted air flow in your dryer vent pipe resulting in your dryer breakdown or a potential fire hazard in your home. Keeping up on all your homes maintenance will make your home a safer place to live.
