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jenna1_gw

Dryer vent

jenna1
10 years ago

This may sound like a silly question but I'm really perplexed as to who to call.

We moved into our home about 10+ months ago. For the first time we have a dryer vent that goes up to the roof. We've always had vents that go right from the dryer out a wall. Very easy to clean out on a regular basis.

We bought our washer and dryer new after we moved. I regularly clean out the lint trap, sometimes twice during a load. We have two cats and a large dog so don't want any pet hair build up in the lint trap. Several months after hooking up the new dryer, we noticed that the dryer seems to be getting quite warm during a load. Truthfully I didn't think much of it at first because the temps were getting hot. More recently it seems to be getting extremely hot. I've put a floor fan in there to help but it really isn't doing much. Recently we've been noticing small clumps of lint on our front patio that we think that may be coming from the roof.

We're really concerned that there is the potential for a dryer fire so want to have a professional come out and check the vent going up to the roof. We have absolutely no clue as to who and/or what kind of company to call to clean and check it out.

Can anyone help?

Thanks!

Jenna

Comments (5)

  • dadoes
    10 years ago

    Try a chimney sweep outfit, plumber, HVAC service, or general handyman.

    Cleaning the dryer's filter has no effect on lint build-up in the exhaust ducting. The build-up is from lint that gets through or around the screen -- the screen catches a majority of the lint but it's not possible to catch 100%.

  • Karen15
    10 years ago

    Where is your laundry that they have to vent up to the roof? I'm only asking because we might need to vent that way as well.

  • AtomicJay007
    10 years ago

    If you want to try a DIY before calling in the pros, you can simply disconnect the lint tube at the wall, insert a leaf blower into the wall vent and blow it for a minute or two to force any trapped lint/hair to blow out the top of the duct. I do this about every 6 months and every time a good bit of debris comes out of the line. It's easy and won't cost you anything. Give it a try and if you're still experiencing abnormally hot temps, then call in the pros.

  • jackfre
    10 years ago

    Your dryer is not able to adequately handle the length of vent. How many elbows and 45 & 90 deg fittings are there in the system. Is it smooth walled or flex pipe? You are probably noticing that the dryer is not drying the clothes as well. Check the install manual for your model dryer to see what the manuf recommends for vent system specs and compare your system to those specs.

    I'd try to shorten the vent. You could also look at fan assist. Fan tech makes one, but Tjernlund's is the best.

  • jenna1
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thank you all for answering. I apologize for taking so long to answer but my husband and I decided to take an unplanned mini vacation. Actually came home a day early so that I could watch THE WALKING DEAD on our big screen TV. I'm a serious WD junkie.

    AtomicJay, we actually had talked about that but then figured one of us would have to get up on the roof to clean up any lint that blew out. I'm deathly afraid of heights and husband has a partially fused back. Had talked about putting a hose on one of our vacuums and sucking some of it out. Did that often at our other two homes but those vents went right out the wall since the laundry room shared with the outside wall. We've already checked the connecting metal vent duct.

    Karen, our laundry room is pretty much in the middle of the house, with a bedroom to one side, the entry on the other side and the door from the laundry room leads to our garage and the rest of the house in back of it. The house is also on a slab.

    Jackfre, I couldn't tell you how many elbows, etc., are here. We do know that the lint trap inside the dryer doesn't catch all the lint and I often clean the trap out several times during a load as well as vacuum in that space every once in a while. But that's something I've always done since we have pets and really isn't something that I mind doing. This home was used exclusively as a vacation home prior to us buying and moving in. We think, altho we could be wrong, that there was already build-up 'up top' but has really gotten bad since I do laundry on a regular basis.

    We're definitely going to call a professional this week. I mentioned to my husband a little bit ago about a fan assist and he thinks that it's probably what will be needed. Personally I've never heard of it before but evidently he has and will be mentioning it to whoever comes out.

    Thank you again for your help!

    Jenna