Dryer Vent Cleaning in Bismarck, ND
Tell us about your home, and a licensed contractor who covers Burleigh County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Cold vents make lint stick
Your dryer pushes warm, damp air out through a vent that runs into cold air, and Bismarck winters make that vent cold for months at a time. December through February, nights average 5°F. The warm air cools fast once it hits that metal, and the moisture in it settles on the walls of the vent instead of carrying straight outside. Lint sticks to damp walls far more than it does to dry ones, and it builds up layer by layer.
A vent that is narrowing with lint does two things. It makes the dryer work harder to push air through, and it gives a spark or a hot piece of lint less room to cool down before it reaches something that can catch. Either way, the vent needs to be clear all the way to the outside wall, not just at the ends you can see.
- 5°F
- the average winter night, and cold vents catch damp lint
- 9 months
- September through May, the vent stays cold
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- How often should a dryer vent be cleaned?
- Once a year is a reasonable schedule for most households. Dry more loads than that, or run the dryer for a big household, and the vent fills with lint faster, so clean it sooner. A long vent run or one with several bends also collects lint at the bends, so it may need attention before the year is up. If drying times are creeping up, that is a better signal than the calendar.
- Can I clean my dryer vent myself?
- You can clean the part you can reach. That usually means the first few feet behind the dryer and the vent hood outside, and a vent brush kit will pull lint out of a straight run. A vent with bends in it, or one that runs a long way through the house, is hard to clear all the way with a brush from either end. If your dryer is taking longer than it used to dry a load, that points to lint sitting further down the line than you can reach.
- What are the signs of a clogged dryer vent?
- Clothes taking longer than one cycle to dry is the clearest sign. Others are the outside of the dryer feeling hot, a burning smell during the cycle, and weak airflow at the vent hood outside when you hold your hand near it while the dryer runs. Lint collecting around the dryer door or the hose connection is also a sign. Any one of these means air and moisture are not leaving the house the way they should, and it is worth clearing the vent before running the dryer again.