It’s the holy grail of New York apartment living: your own washer-dryer. But along with the convenience comes the job of keeping the dryer vent clean, a chore that, for apartment and single-home dwellers, might be a good candidate for that 2012 to-do list. Merely cleaning the lint tray is not enough, says Maria Vizzi, the owner of Indoor Environmental Solutions in the Bronx, a firm that offers dryer-vent servicing. Vents also collect lint, which is highly combustible.The most obvious signs of a clogged vent are clothes that don’t dry well, says Robin Waller, the sales manager at Mike’s Air Conditioning in Brooklyn, another vent-cleaning firm. And since vents may be shared with other apartments, one unit’s clog affects everybody else’s drying efficiency, says Craig Berlin, president of ChuteMaster Environmental in Union, N.J.At Ms. Vizzi’s firm, vent-cleaning costs an average of $200. The shorter the vent and the easier the access, the lower the price.Clean from the Outside or the Inside

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Lint can block the flow of air, cause excessive heat build-up, and result in a fire in some dryers. The LintEater was designed for the homeowner by a leading manufacturer of professional dangerous lint build-up in almost every type of dryer vent system, and it's easy to use with your cordless The rotating action of the Auger Brush and flexible rods will traverse the multiple turns that are common in most vent systems. adapters allow you to use the air from your dryer, or a shop vacuum/ blower to completely remove the lint from the vent while rotary brushing.If your dryer is still producing heat, but taking longer and longer to dry clothes, the exhaust duct may be clogged with lint, birds’ nests and/or other debris. This is a no-win situation! It’s hard on the dryer, frustrating for you, and–in the case of a gas-fueled dryer– possibly life threatening. Lint and flue gases use the same avenue of exit from the house. A blocked vent can cause poisonous carbon monoxide (CO) fumes to back up into the house.

These fumes are colorless and odorless and they can be fatal. CO poisoning symptoms mimic those of flu (without the fever): headache, weakness, nausea, disorientation and deep fatigue. You can fall asleep, lapse into a coma, and die. If you have an electric clothes dryer, you need not worry about carbon monoxide, but a plugged-up exhaust duct is bad news! With both types of dryers, heat that builds up and cannot escape presents a safety hazard. Clothes dryers do catch on fire. Many chimney sweeps service dryer vents, using special equipment for the job–a round brush the right size, with a long flexible handle to reach far into the vent pipe or ductwork. More and more often these days, you’ll find sweeps routinely adding this maintenance job to their annual visit to clean and service chimneys and heating-system flues of all types. (if your local sweep does not offer this service, perhaps an air duct cleaning company can help.) An ounce of prevention .. The National Fire Protection Association recommends that all flues be inspected and serviced on an annual basis.

The non-profit Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) also stresses the importance of a yearly “chimney check.” Some dryer vents/ducts need attention more often, depending on how heavily they are used, what they’re made of and how and when they were installed. Don’t wait until clothes take forever to dry before you have your dryer serviced. Otherwise, you may wear it out long before its time, or be living with a fire or CO poisoning hazard in your home. The benefits of regular maintenance are twofold: a more energy-efficient dryer and enhanced safety. A family in California could not locate the source of a horrible smell. The clothes dryer wasn’t working right, either, so they called their sweep. He found a dead rat, plus an accumulation of lint that had blocked the opening. Could this be a routine little chore for the home handyman? Sure, if you are willing to invest in the necessary equipment, and if you don’t run into a situation that makes it strictly a job for a professional.

If the exhaust duct is a short run and was put in not too long ago, there should be no problem. However, installed as an afterthought, the exhaust duct or vent may have to be traced and accessed from the crawl space, through the bowels of the house or from the attic. If the vent pipe is inside the wall, sections could have vibrated apart, spilling out lint and moisture. Holes must be cut into the wall in order to inspect, clean out, repair or replace it. This is certainly no job for an amateur. The duct or vent pipe may need to be made of better material, without rough edges that catch and trap the lint. Perhaps it’s just worn out, or mashed, and has outlived its usefulness. Rigid metal duct is best, because flexible plastic can kink or sag. (Plastic is illegal to use in some states, due to the fire hazard.) An end cap is needed The exhaust duct should have an end cap to prevent air from entering the house through the clothes dryer, save energy, and keep out birds, rodents and bugs.