Dryer Vent Cleaning in Woodbury, MN
Tell us about your home, and a licensed contractor who covers Washington County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Step 1 of 3: Equipment
Cold vents catch more lint than warm ones
Your dryer pushes warm, damp air out through the vent to the outside. When that vent runs through cold space, the air cools fast, and moisture in it turns to dampness on the vent walls. Lint sticks to a damp wall a lot easier than it slides through a dry one.
With winter nights here averaging 10°F from December through February, that cooling happens fast, and it happens for eight months of the year while the heat is on. Lint that sticks stays put and builds up layer on layer, narrowing the path the air has to take to get outside.
- 10°F
- the average winter night, and cold vents catch damp lint
- 8 months
- October through May, the vent stays cold
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- How often should a dryer vent be cleaned?
- Once a year is a good rule for most households. If a load is taking longer to dry than it used to, that is a sign lint has built up sooner than expected and the vent needs cleaning now rather than waiting for the year mark.
- Can I clean my dryer vent myself?
- You can clean the part you can reach, but that is usually not the whole job. Pulling the dryer out and vacuuming the first few feet of duct, plus clearing lint from the exterior hood, is safe to do yourself. The rest of the run, especially anywhere it bends or passes through a wall, needs a brush and rod system to clear properly, and a contractor has the tools to do that without damaging the duct.
- What are the signs of a clogged dryer vent?
- Clothes that take more than one cycle to dry is the clearest sign. Others include the dryer or the laundry room getting hotter than usual during a cycle, a burning smell, little to no airflow at the exterior vent hood when the dryer is running, and heavy lint buildup around the lint trap or the vent opening outside. Any one of these on its own is worth checking, and more than one means the vent needs cleaning soon.