Why should my dryer vent be cleaned?

Dryer exhaust fires are quickly catching up to creosote (chimney) fires in frequency on a national level. In 1998, the most recent statistics available, the Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that over 15,600 dryer fires occurred killing 20 people, injuring 370 more and causing over $75.4 million in property damage.  According to the CPSC, in most of these cases, the culprit was lint getting into the machine’s heating element, sparking and fueling a fire. Not surprisingly, some fire departments and insurance companies now require that dryer vents be inspected and cleaned regularly.

Facts about Dryer Vent Cleaning

1. Your dryer vent needs to be cleaned to ensure proper airflow. This will result in:
   reduced risk of fire hazard.
2. A clean dryer vent means significant savings on your utility bill.
3. A clean dryer vent reduced the wear and tear of your clothes dryer.
4. You may possibly qualify for a reduced home insurance premium.

Isn’t cleaning out my lint screen enough?

No. The lint screen is only the internal lint trap of the clothes dryer. The main concern is the flexible hose attached to the back of your clothes dryer which usually vents outside your home. This is where most of the lint builds up over time and reduces airflow.

How often should my vent be cleaned?

Some dryer vents require cleaning twice a year. Most dryer vents should be cleaned at least once a year. Some vents require more than the average dryer. Below are some factors that affect how often your vent should be serviced:

• number of loads the dryer is used for;
• the type of items the dryer is mainly used for;
• the age of dryer;
• length of dryer vent;
• amount of turns in venting.

Hiring a professional is highly recommended. Unlike other home improvement jobs, the difference here between do-it-yourself and hiring a professional could be as drastic as life and death. We have state of the art equipment like the ROVAC professional dryer vent cleaning system and Rovac 405CFM Hepa Vacuum that enables us to get the hard to reach places that may be less visible to a homeowner without the proper tools.

How long does the cleaning take?

Standard cleanings require one hour. Unexpected complications may need additional time.

Warning Signs

(Any one of these could be an indication of a potential fire hazard.)

• Are your clothes taking longer than 1 cycle or 30 minutes to dry?
• Does the top of your dryer get too hot to the touch?
• Does the outdoor vent flap open when the dryer is on?
• Is lint collecting on the inside of the dryer door?
• Does the vent air flow seem restricted?

Gas Dryers

Gas dryers carry the extra concern of carbon monoxide poisoning. If your dryer vent’s airflow is blocked by lint, CO gases are restricted and cannot properly exit the house. Carbon monoxide is a colorless and odorless gas and can be fatal too.

Did You know?

Most dryers are running at or below (or far below) 30% of normal operating efficiency! No wonder your clothes are not drying anymore!

For additional help or if you have any questions feel free to contact us at 406-599-4919 or call your local Certified Dryer Vent Cleaner.

Don’t wait. Get your dryer vent cleaned now before it is too late!

Are You Having Chimney Drafting Problems?

Overcoming Backdraft issues

First of all, make sure that your wood supply is dry and protected from the elements. You don’t want snow collecting and repeatedly melting on your woodpile. Firewood that exceeds even 15% moisture content, in this region, will produce substantially more soot buildup.

Weather can be a determining factor. A low-pressure system can cause moist dense air to get lodged in chimney flues and not allow air to rise. A high-pressure system with extreme cold can cause a similar effect.

If you experience a cold air backdraft issue from time to time the trick is to, “prime it“, so to speak. Start by opening the stove door first thing in the morning to allow warm air to begin working its way up. If you can gain access above the shelf or to the chimney flue, a piece of newspaper can be twisted up and put into the chimney or onto the secondary burn shelf. Light it. When that piece of paper is finally engulfed in flames and the smoke and flames are going up the chimney then you have effectively reversed the draft to its correct flow.

The key is to get that draft moving again before you light the wood. If repeated attempts to prime your wood burning system do not work then it is very likely that the chimney needs to be swept or that a bird screen is clogged. If the problem persists after cleaning, it is likely that the height of the chimney should be extended several feet in order to produce a better updraft.

Other backdraft solutions

• Do you have a powerful forced air furnace? A furnace can pull as much as 2000 ft.³ of air per minute out of your home. The easiest place to get that air is your chimney. When you open the door of the stove the air intake of the furnace will pull air down the chimney. Turn your heat off before you light a fire.
• Do you have a powerful kitchen vent hood? Make sure it is turned off before you light your fire.
• Do you have a modern airtight home? You might simply need to crack a window near the wood stove.
• Do you have a wood stove or a fireplace in your basement? This is not a good place for any wood burning system. Cold air falls. Hot air rises.  Wood burning systems in basements have the most backdraft problems because of the cool air in the basement. If you have a woodstove in your basement you can install what is called a draft inducer. This is a heating system that warms the pipe to help start a draft.
• Is your wood seasoned? Dry? Bone dry? Not with salt and pepper, of course, I prefer cilantro! Harder woods can have a moisture content of up to 20%, however, I have found that local woods like Lodgepole pine, which has a lot of sap, should not exceed 12% moisture. Lodgepole pine is the predominant source of wood in this area. If the wood is green it will cause rapid and excessive soot buildup. This buildup constricts the chimney and causes a poor draft. It can also lead to a Chimney Fire. Any wood is good for a fire, as long as it is not wet.
• Is your wood covered? It must be tarped at the very least. Wet wood is the same or even worse than green wood. Moisture is moisture. Whether it is a fresh cut timber or water soaked it is simply water content that is the culprit.
• Do you live in an area with a lot of wind? In this case, you may want to try a wind cap which helps to inhibit downdrafts from high winds.
• Are you burning your stove hot enough to avoid excess creosote buildup? Why do I need to? How hot? You must burn your stove hot in order to keep a cleaner system. Take the stove up to 600℉ on startup in order to clean out the creosote buildup from the previous cooldown. Get a stove top thermometer to keep an accurate gage. After about 30-45 minutes, go outside and look at the chimney — An efficient system operating properly will have a small amount of white vapor coming out OR almost nothing at all. If smoke is dark then give stove more air. Creosote buildup reduces the draft by reducing the effective cross-section area of the chimney. If a chimney is 6” in diameter clean and it has ¼” of creosote attached, It is now effectively only 5.5” in diameter. BUT the stove has a 6” outlet, right? So this constriction will increase the probability of downdraft.

If these remedies don’t work, then there may be other issues such as a plugged Chimney Cap or Bird/Spark Screen. In that case, we will need to come and inspect your unit to determine the cause.

In many cases, a wood burning system may not draft properly simply because it has not been cleaned or serviced. Your system must be clean to draft and work properly, prevent chimney fires and for the health of the woodburning and stainless liner system itself. Creosote is carbon basically. When you mix moisture with carbon/creosote, both hydrochloric and sulfuric acids are produced. These acids are not good for the stainless steel liner. You must remove the soot from the pipe every spring in order to reduce corrosion.

Always remember that if your firewood contains too much moisture you can go from a clean chimney to one that is inoperable in as little as seven days.

For additional help or if you have any questions feel free to contact us at 406-599-4919 or call your local Certified Chimney Sweep.