About 8 years ago, someone came out and cleaned our vent to the dryer since it was clogged. My vent begins in the laundry room and travels about 30 feet and exits out the wall on the side of my home. My wife was home, so I'm not sure how it was cleaned out.
To clean this myself, what tool or tools would I need and how much would it cost?
Seal it up its to cold to vent
I push a long thin flexible plumber's snake through mine which is about the same length as yours-- mine is all rigid duct. Then I tape a big round brush to the end of the snake and pull it through, I usually need to repeat that a few times.
I got the brush at HD-- about $6-7 in the cleaning products section.
The other thing I've done is push a shop vac hose in as far as possible from both ends. Sucking works better than blowing for me.
Idiotic advice from an idiot
I've used my leaf blower and it works like a charm.
How about if you can't get to the outside flapper, because idiot Previous Owner buried it under a low deck? Mine needs cleaning, but I'm afraid to apply air pressure for fear of blocking outside end with debris, or blowing the flapper off entirely and making an exit for warm air and an entrance for animals. (If deck ever gets rebuilt, there will be a lift-out 2x2 panel above the vent...)
-- aem sends...
Probably not something you want to tackle mid winter -- but maybe cut an access panel in the existing deck?
*I bought myself a dryer cleaning brush kit online, but I have since seen them at Lowes. I attach the wands to a drill and push it down the exhaust end while the dryer is on no heat and with no clothes inside. As I push and pull out the brush lint comes spewing out. They have a bag to attach to catch the lint as an extra accessory. I push the brush down until it gets to the flex then I go and pull out the dryer and clean the flex duct and the inside of the dryer. I also have a brush to push down the lint trap and that usually brings out some balls of lint.
I do this once a year because I have found that the drying time is greatly reduced after I clean the duct which leads to considerable energy savings.
Clean your dryer vent once or twice a year to increase drying effeciency and prevent fire. Get a garden hose (not hooked up) and rubberband a wad of rags to the end of it. Turn the hose as you feed it into the vent, pull out, turn on the "no heat" setting, repeat until no more lint comes out. You may need to clean out the back of the dryer and the ductwork on that end too, if it has been some time. Cost is nothing if you do it yourself. Cost can be high if you don't clean it. If you have flex ductwork, replace it with smooth metal for better airflow and safety.
I connect dryer end to shop vac blower stuff some rags on dryer end. it blows all the junk into thje yard as a large white cloud
drying time much reduced.
A 30 foot run is excessively long, I would try to make it shorter by relocating dryer
On 1/24/2009 4:42 AM Sanity spake thus:
Oh, that's our ransley all right; got to answer every post, whether or not he knows f*ck-all about it.
I connect dryer end to shop vac blower stuff some rags on dryer end. it blows all the junk into thje yard as a large white cloud
drying time much reduced.
A 30 foot run is excessively long, I would try to make it shorter by relocating dryer
I thought it sounded like a long run as well...Is there a closer exterior wall for the vent??
Once again, without having a clue, ransley rambels on like a fool. What if his dryer is gas ransley? Maybe to heat his house he should just burn wood right on the floor in the middle of his living room. Ever wonder why a dryer has a vent in the first place? Dipwad. Bubba
So what if the dryer is gas?
I grew up with gas space heaters; didn't bother me.
Look! A squirrel.
Take a look at the new gas VENTLESS fireplaces. Read the first two pages of the manual. Nothing but cautions and warnings. Oh, and dont forget that they tell you to open a window several inches during operation!! Yeah, that works real well when its 0 degrees outside. I wonder why they want the window open?? Must have something to do with oxygen, lungs, organs operating properly, etc. Bubba
No, it has to do with lawyers. I got six pages of warnings, admonitions, instructions, and prayers with a new step-stool! (Do not use while operating heavy machinery, during thunderstorms, while eating licorice, etc.)
Znott wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
First thing you need to know is what type of vent pipe do you have? If it were that tin foil type, it can be very easily be damaged with a vent cleaning brush.
On 1/24/2009 9:17 PM HeyBub spake thus:
You must get a kick out of the Harbor Freight warnings on the packages, as I do. No matter what the product is, the warning is invariably the same:
WEAR SAFETY GLASSES
Doesn't matter if the product is a tube of glue, a pack of sandpaper or a hex wrench. I guess that's the Chinese take on how to mimic American safety warnings.
I discount those warnings, knowing as I do, the Chinese mania for protection of life and limb.
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