A Homeowner Should Know About Dryer Safety!
By Tinamarie Dougherty.
A clogged vent can lead to fire, waste energy or wear down the dryer.
When was the last time you cleaned your dryer vent?
“Anyone who is a homeowner should know about dryer safety,” said Bob Dougherty, a Dryer Vent Technician and Owner/Operator with the Dryer Vent Wizard franchise. Dougherty advised that the more often a dryer is used, the more often it should be cleaned out.
“Always clean out the lint trap,” he said. “The access panel should be cleaned out annually, if not quarterly. The vent to the outside can get clogged with lint or animal nests, so it should be cleaned out as well.”
“You don’t want to use any appliance as a storage shelf,” Dougherty said. “Every appliance needs a space for ventilation, or it could malfunction.”
Dougherty also advised against running the dryer while no one is home. “You could risk having a fire by leaving the dryer running while you run errands,” he said.
“Lots of people don’t realize that fires can occur in dryer vents, and that it’s one of the leading causes of fires,” Bob Dougherty, owner of Dryer Vent Wizard of Nassau County New York, said. Dougherty has been cleaning dryer vents for more than 25 years and estimates that he has cleaned “almost 20,000 dryer vents” in that time.
In addition to potentially starting a fire, dirty vents waste gas and electricity, and can prematurely burn out the dryer. “If your clothes take longer to dry, or if there’s no steam coming out of the exit vent, or if you see lint around the dryer, then the dryer vent may be so full with lint that it needs to be cleaned,” Dougherty said.
“About 35 percent of lint goes through the lint screens,” he said. “Eventually, every dryer vent pipe will get plugged. If you don’t clean your screen, then the lint builds up.”
According to Dougherty, if a dryer is used by only one or two people, the dryer vent might not need to be cleaned for “two or three years.” However, if a dryer is used by family with two or more children, then the dryer vent may need to be cleaned every year. “At the very least it should be inspected by a licensed technician once a year”.
“In general, the more fleece, towels and blankets you use, the more often you need to clean your dryer,” he added. He stated that he cleans the dryers in an animal hospital twice a year due to the animal hair in the towels.
The location of the dryer is also critical. If the dryer is close to the wall, it does not need to work as hard to expel the hot air. If the hot air has to travel through a long hose to the exit vent, or if the pipe has numerous elbows, much more energy will be required to push the hot air out.
“Every elbow cuts down on the air speed,” Dougherty explained.
Dougherty said that he has seen dryer vents plugged with lint because the owners never cleaned out the lint trap. Another customer had five birds’ nests in his dryer vent. Dougherty has special tools specifically to remove the nests. “I have them so I can get the job done right!” Dougherty said.
He explained that he became involved in the dryer vent-cleaning business while servicing home appliances, he ran into clogged vents all the time. “A local fireman said it was the leading cause of house fires. I cleaned out my own vent, and found it was completely plugged,” he said.
“People aren’t really exposed to the dangers of fires in their dryers unless they read an article about it or see something about a fire,” Dougherty said.
Dryer Vent Wizard specializes in all dryer exhaust issues. Their services ensure clothes dryers operate safely and efficiently. Dryer Vent Wizard is making homes safer and greener, one dryer vent at a time.Contact:
Bob Dougherty – Long Island, NY
bdougherty@dryerventwizard.com
www.dryerventwizard.com
516-873-7247
Dryer Vent Wizard provides dryer vent cleaning, dryer vent repair, dryer vent installation, and dryer lint cleaning for homes and businesses in Nassau County, NY, Glen Cove, Great Neck, Westbury, Old Westbury, Syosset, Hicksville, Levittown, Hempstead, Wantagh, Freeport, Long Beach, Valley Stream, Garden City, Hewlett, Hewlett Harbor, Woodmere, Merrick, Bellmore and neighboring cities and communities
11530, 11050, 11804, 11797, 11753, 11747, 11969, 11746, 11949, 11707, 11750, 11718, 11770, 11739, 11760, 11794, 11973, 11960, 11972, 11970, 11947, 11931, 11969, 11932, 11962, 11975, 11930, 11956, 11702, 11757, 11704, 11703, 11795, 11706, 11729, 11724, 1174,7 11798, 11746, 11740, 11721, 11743, 11731, 11717, 11730, 11751, 11752, 11722, 11768, 11725, 11749, 11705, 11782, 11769, 11715, 11742, 11754, 11788, 11787, 11780, 11767, 11755, 11741, 11779, 11738, 11713, 11719, 11772, 11720, 11790, 11776, 11784, 11733, 11727, 11763, 11777, 11766, 11980, 11951, 11934, 11940, 11941, 11977, 11978, 11955, 11950, 11967, 11953, 11764, 11789, 11778, 11786, 11961, 11949, 11933, 11792, 11946, 11948, 11935, 11976, 11968, 11952, 11901, 11965, 11963, 11964, 11957, 11937, 11971, 11944, 11939, 11954