Dryer Vent Cleaning Westford, Massachusetts

Dryer Vent Cleaning: What's in Your Dryer Vent, asks the Wizard of Westford

2009-10-21T11:54:00.000-07:00

Have you ever thought of where all the lint and hot air from your clothes dryer goes as it works to dry your laundry? You probably think about the lint trap, that part that you can pull out to remove the lint after each load is completed. Sure, some of it goes there, but that is not a one-stop catch all for all the lint that comes off of your clothes. You need to get closer acquainted with your dryer duct and vent pipe.

The duct and vent on your dryer are the things that take all that hot air, and some lint and dust from your dryer, through your laundry room and then vent it outside.

Depending on where the dryer is in your home, the path your vent pipe and ductwork have to take could be a long one. If you have a home where the laundry room is near an interior bathroom, there is a vent pipe from that point to the edge of your house, sometimes 20-30 feet away.

Stuck Dust and Lint

Consider what happens to the dust that is getting pushed through the dryer vent system. While some of it will make it all the way outside, not all of it will be this lucky. Some of it will start to stick to the walls of the dryer vent. A little of this is not a problem, but it seems lint likes company and more and more will continue to grab on to the first pieces and make a larger clog.

Solid Lint

If you are in a humid area or there are major temperature changes, moisture can start to seep into the dryer vent and mix with the lint. This is a lethal combination. Once dust and lint get wet and dry they become something similar to dried mud on the inside of your dryer vent. While dry lint can be brushed away, once it's wet and solidifies, it's a harder job.

The Solution

The only solution is prevention and maintenance. You should make sure that the whole duct and vent line gets a complete check at least once a year. Maybe you can add it on to your list of spring-cleaning items.

If you have a large family and are always running clothes through the system, you may want to clean dryer vents twice a year.

Webb Dickson of Dryer Vent Wizard provides dryer vent cleaning, dryer vent repair, dryer vent installation, dryer vent inspections and all dryer vent services for homes and businesses in New Hampshire, Nashua, Manchester, Concord, Portsmouth, Derry, Bedford, Keene, Milford, Middlesex and Essex County, Massachusetts, Billerica, Burlington, Westford, Concord, Stow, Marlborough, Natick, Hopkinton, Framingham, Gloucester, Middleton, Newburyport, Haverhill, Lawrence, Beverly and neighboring cities and communities.

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Dryer Vent Cleaning and Maintenance Tips

2009-07-12T13:46:00.000-07:00

Being a homeowner is a lot of responsibility; there is always something that needs attention, including yard maintenance, appliance maintenance, plumbing, electrical and much more! It all can be very overwhelming; some important things are often forgotten.

Homeowners often neglect to properly maintain their clothes dryer vent. We throw in a load of wet laundry, set the dial and take it for granted as it usually gives us the result we are looking for; dry clothes.

Unless you’re one of the unfortunate people who have experienced a dryer fire you probably don’t give it much thought. Do you know that over 15,000 dryer fires are reported every year? Most of these fires are caused by failure to maintain with proper dryer vent cleaning.

Your dryer vent system removes the moisture, heat and lint from your laundry as it dries. If you have a gas dryer, it also removes gas by-products, including carbon monoxide that you don’t want leaking into your home

The lint screen only traps about 60% of the lint removed from tumbling laundry. The other 40% escapes into your dryer vent system where it builds up and restricts air flow. As the lint builds up, heat and moisture cannot escape and clothes take longer to dry.

Sticky, moist lint attracts more lint as it builds up in the dryer vent system. Lint is flammable; a dryer fire will spread very quickly. A professional dryer vent cleaning specialist can inspect your system to be sure it meets today’s safety codes. Not only is dryer vent cleaning essential; proper installation using the right type of venting material is important to ensure safety.

Webb Dickson owns Dryer Vent Wizard in New Hampshire. He provides dryer vent cleaning, repair and installation for homes and businesses while educating his customers on the importance of proper maintenance to prevent fires and save energy while prolonging the life of their appliance.

Dryer Vent Wizard of Massachusetts and New Hampshire provides dryer vent cleaning, dryer vent repair, dryer vent installation, dryer vent inspections and all dryer vent services for homes and businesses in New Hampshire, Nashua, Manchester, Concord, Portsmouth, Derry, Bedford, Keene, Milford, Middlesex and Essex County, Massachusetts, Billerica, Burlington, Westford, Concord, Stow, Marlborough, Natick, Hopkinton, Framingham, Gloucester, Middleton, Newburyport, Haverhill, Lawrence, Beverly and neighboring cities and communities.

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Why Dryer Vent Cleaning is Recommended by the Wizard of Westford

2009-07-12T13:39:00.000-07:00

Don’t Let Your Dryer Start a Fire! Keep Your Westford 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 Westford

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 Westford 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 Westford, Massachusetts

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 Westford, MA

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 Westford 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 Westford 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 Westford 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 Westford, MA

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 Westford, Mass

• 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 Westford 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 Westford, MA

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

Dryer Vent Wizard of Massachusetts and New Hampshire provides dryer vent cleaning, dryer vent repair, dryer vent installation, dryer vent inspections and all dryer vent services for homes and businesses in New Hampshire, Nashua, Manchester, Concord, Portsmouth, Derry, Bedford, Keene, Milford, Middlesex and Essex County, Massachusetts, Billerica, Burlington, Westford, Concord, Stow, Marlborough, Natick, Hopkinton, Framingham, Gloucester, Middleton, Newburyport, Haverhill, Lawrence, Beverly and neighboring cities and communities