How To Clean Dryer Vent From Outside
Have you noticed humidity in your laundry room? Or, are your laundry taking too long to dry?Humid, laundry taking longer to dry, and dryer getting hot, are among signs of clog in your dryer’s veneration. They are indications that you need to do some dryer vent cleaning urgently. Failure to clean your dryer duck-work can lead to loss or even death.
According to the US fire administration, over 2,900 home fires – every year – are due to dryers. In addition to that, the fires lead to loss of over $35 million, injuries, and even deaths every year. The fires often start because of the build-up of lint in the dryers’ vents. To avoid such avoidable losses, you need a regular dryer vent cleaning.
It is advisable to clean your dryer’s vent at least twice per year. This article will guide you on how to clean dryer vent from outside step-by-step.
Let’s get started….
Step-by-Step Guide to Cleaning Dryer Vent from Outside
Before diving into the guide, here is the list of the equipment you will need in the dryer vent cleaning process.
- Dryer vent cleaning kit – A standard equipment comes with a cleaning brush, clog removal tools, different adaptors, and a set of extension flexible rods (standard kits come with four rods, enough to clean 12-feet long ducks).
- Duct tape
- Screwdrivers
- Drill
We will discuss the use of each of the above instruments as we go through our step-by-step guide to dryer vent cleaning.
Important Note: In this guide, we will be cleaning from the outside. Therefore, ensure to know where the dryer exhaust pot is from outside your house.
Let’s now get into the guide;
Step 1: Disconnect Your Dryer from the Power Source
Before cleaning your dryer vent, the first step is to determine your dryer type then disconnect it from the power source. Note that dryers are of two types, gas dryers and electric dryers.
Gas dryers use natural gas (propane) to generate heat. Electric dryers use a metallic heating coil to generate heat.
If you use a gas dryer, ensure to turn off the gas supply. You may also disconnect the dryer from the gas source if the flex connecting the dryer and gas supply is not long enough to allow you to work on the vent effectively. This will help you avoid damage.
If you use an electric dryer, switch off and unplug your dryer from the power source.
Step 2: Disconnect Duck from the Dryer
A flex duck connecting the dryer with the main dryer vent tube is usually clamped using hose clamps. Use a screwdriver to loosen the clamp. Gently pull out the duck and disconnect it from the dryer.
Repeat the process on the other side – disconnect the duck from the main vent tube. Be careful not to damage the flex duck.
Step 3: Set Your Cleaning Apparatus to the Dryer Vent from the Outside
This is the most critical step. First, attach the duck-cleaning brush to one of the extension rods – to the threaded side. Ensure to fasten it so it may not disengage while inside the duck. Note that some kits come with an attached brush.
Usually, a standard kit will come with a vacuum adaptor. The adaptor helps to conjunct the vacuum and the extension rods – it has a hole where the extension rods run through and another for the vacuum hose.
Run the extension rod – with a cleaning brush – through the adapter, then attach the adaptor to the de-caped vent exhaust.
Next, plug your vacuum into the adaptor.
Lastly, attach the drill to the extension rod –which now runs through the vacuum adaptor into the dryer vent. Ensure to leave your drilling machine clockwise to avoid unscrewing the rods.
Step 4: Start Cleaning Your Dryer Vent
After setting up your instruments, you are now good to start cleaning.
Turn on the vacuum and then the drill. Slowly move forward and backward the cleaning brush, pushing it deeper into the vent with each stroke until the first rod is almost all in the duck. Now detach the drill, fasten another rod to the previous one.
Attach the drilling machine again and continue the strokes. When you add a rod, be sure to tape every joint using duct tape to ensure the rods do not detach if your driller reverses.
Repeat the process until you start to feel some resistance. The resistance could be indicating that you have reached the end of your dryer vent. Go inside the house and check it out. Do not force the rods out.
Step 5: Remove the Rods and Detach the Adaptor
The brush has come out of the vent – now from the inside the house- at this point. Therefore, you will be feeling resistance when trying to draw back the rods. You will need to go into the house and put it back to the vent.
Next, from the outside, run your drill – still clockwise – as you pull out the rods to the last stick with the brush. Unscrew each rod as soon as it entirely comes out of the vent. On reaching the rod with the cleaning brush, you can now detach the adaptor then re-cap the vent.
Step 6: Clean the Flex and the Dryer
To clean the flex duck and the dryer, repeat the process in steps 3 and 4, respectively.
However, you will not need to use the vacuum adaptor to control the rods. Also, only one rod is enough when cleaning the dryer. Be gentle and careful to avoid damaging the delicate parts of the dryer and flex duck.
After cleaning the dryer, you can now reconnect it and test its functionality.
Conclusion
That’s it. Now you know how to clean dryer vent from outside. You also know how often to clean dryer vent and dryer. This guide reveals that the dryer vent cleaning process is not overwhelming as it may sound. Anyone can successfully do it.
