Okay, I really want to title this post How to Clean Your Dryer Vent and Not Die but that makes cleaning the vent scary and it’s not, I promise. Unless you’re afraid of lint, but you should do it anyways. It’s important to clean out your dryer vent every six months or so to keep your dryer running efficiently AND so you don’t die from a dryer fire. That would be sad. “How did you die?” “The dryer.” “Well that’s glamorous.” “How did you die?” “I died fighting a bear in an Old Spice commercial for my one true love.” End scene. Sorry, I’m feeling particularly hilarious today, back on topic.
Lint in your dryer and connecting vents build up over time and will clog/stop airflow. Airflow is important because the air in you dryer is ridiculously hot and lint is flammable. Stop that airflow of hot air and that flammable lint will catch fire, burn down your home and make you sad. Don’t be sad and be glad that you read this post on How to Clean Your Dryer Vent in Three Steps.
Step One: Unplug your dryer and clean the lint trap.
Step Two: Remove lint trap cover thinger by removing the screws holding it in place. Vacuum the crevice the best you can. A brush like this would be super handy.
Step Three: Pull dryer out and detach silver hose. Vacuum the hose, dryer and duct.
Now put everything back where you found it if you haven’t already. At this point I would recommend if you have a flexible foil duct to swap it for a flexible aluminum duct (like this one) or a rigid duct. The coil ducts like the one shown in the picture above are flammable and burn quickly if they become clogged and get too hot. I saw this video from Pretty Handy Girl’s tutorial on swapping the ducts out and it convinced me to change mine. The good news is that the aluminum ducts are about $10 at your local home improvement store.
One more thing you should consider getting your ducts professionally cleaned if the wall vent does not go directly outside i.e. duct runs up through the wall to the attic then outside. A professional will be able to clean the entire duct making sure that it is completely lint free. If your duct is on an outer wall, you can vacuum out the whole foot of ductwork and do not need to call a professional. Be safe and clean your dryer vent and ducts 1-2 times a year depending on how much you use it.
Happy cleaning!
Angela
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Angela Says 
I did this yesterday! I could have used this post though – my cleaning involved one step – throw the old vent hose away and replace it. :) Thanks for sharing it Ang!
You’re welcome, I’m glad you liked it. The vent hose definitely has the most build up but it’s good to get the other areas too. Lint attracts more lint.
Thanks for the reminded to clean my ducts. My mom did mine last time and the dryer worked so much better. Alas, she’s not visiting now so I need to put on my big girl panties and do it myself.
this is a great tutorial! You know what I would like…a dryer :o) We live in a tiny apartment where I hang dry everything! Thanks for linking up to Tasteful Tuesdays and for the link back :o) Can’t wait to see what you bring next week. Emily @ Nap-Time Creations
Thanks! I would hate to hang dry everything because it’s so humid here, but I still hang dry a few items.
Love these tips. Thanks for linking this post up. My readers loved it and found the information helpful. Your post was one of the most clicked posts last week and you can see your feature here: http://www.crystalandcomp.com/2013/05/best-mom-advice-52713/
Good for you for blogging! I remember seeing you commercials for your carpet cleaning business here in the DFW area with the green wigs. They always cracked me up! Haven’t seen one in a while. Hope all is well.
Thanks! I’m glad you like the commercials; we try to show that we’re a fun company. :)
Great tips. I think that dryer vents are often forgotten. Thanks for sharing. Always love your tips!
Thank you. I often forget about it too but I get around to cleaning it once a year.
What if my dryer is one of the ones with the long pull out piece in the top of it? Can I still vacuum it out?
Yes, just vacuum it the best you can with the skinny nozzle. A vent brush would be super handy for your dryer. The goal is to remove as much lint as you can from your dryer ducts/vents.