Dryer Vent Cleaning in Fargo, ND
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Step 1 of 3: Equipment
Cold vents make lint stick
Your dryer pushes warm, damp air out through the vent. In a Fargo winter, with nights averaging 3°F from December through February, that air hits cold metal fast and cools before it reaches the outside. The moisture in it beads up on the vent walls, and lint sticks to that dampness instead of blowing through.
Over a winter that runs September through May, the buildup narrows the vent a little at a time. A choked vent means longer dry times, a dryer that runs hotter than it should, and lint sitting where it can catch.
- 3°F
- the average winter night, and cold vents catch damp lint
- 9 months
- September through May, the vent stays cold
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NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- How often should a dryer vent be cleaned?
- Once a year for most households. If you run laundry for a big family or the vent run is long with a lot of turns, clean it more often than that. Fargo winters mean the vent stays shut up tight for months at a time, so lint has no chance to work its way out on its own, and a vent that is slow to clear makes your dryer run longer to do the same job.
- Can I clean my dryer vent myself?
- You can clear the part you can reach, but you cannot clean the whole run yourself. A vacuum and a brush from the hardware store will pull lint out of the first few feet behind the dryer. What they will not reach is lint packed further down the duct or sitting in the vent hood outside, and that is usually where a real clog is. A contractor uses a brush on a long rod built to run the full length of the duct, out to where it exits the house.
- What are the signs of a clogged dryer vent?
- Clothes that take two cycles to dry, a dryer that runs hot to the touch, or a burnt smell when it is running are the main signs. Check the vent hood outside too. If the flap barely opens or you feel weak airflow with your hand near it while the dryer runs, the duct is restricted. A hot, humid laundry room after a cycle is another sign, since that air is supposed to be going outside, not staying in the room.