User ReviewedHow to Clean a Clothes Dryer Vent If your dryer vent hasn't been cleaned in the past year or two, it probably needs it. How do you clean it? Unplug the dryer from both gas and electric. Pull the dryer out just to the extension of your vent.112 Using a screwdriver or nut driver, loosen the 4" clamp (vent clamp) on the back of the dryer. Slide the vent off the dryer. Reach into the hole on the back of the dryer, and pull out any lint and buildup. Reach into the vent tubing you just took off and pull out lint from there, as well. Look at the ends. Slide the clamp back over the vent. Remove the vent on the outside of the house as well. Reach in and clean out the lint or insert your vacuum cleaner tubing into the dryer exhaust tubing. Look into the vent to see if you missed anything. Turn on gas and plug unit back in. Run dryer on air fluff for 10 minutes. Recheck the outside vent for obstructions and reattach the outside vent.

If your dryer vent is very long with several bends, and you have a leaf blower, you can buy a rubber hose adapter that fits onto both the leaf blower end and the vent piece sticking out of the wall (mine was a 3" to 4" adapter - found in the outdoor PVC pipe area of a home and garden box store), along with some hose clamps. Clamp everything down tightly, and turn leaf blower on. It might surprise you how much lint comes out of the vent even after cleaning it with conventional methods. Some vacuum cleaners also reverse to blow air. If you can't find a fitting, you may be able to improvise one. Clean the lint filter every time you run your dryer. It will help keep lint from building up in the vent (but not prevent it completely). It will also help your dryer run as efficiently as it can. While cleaning the vents, you may also want to remove the bottom front panel of the dryer and clean there also. Pay attention to the area around the lint filter, too. By removing the lint filter frame, easier access to lint deposits can be gained & a vac nozzle can be slipped in for a more thorough cleaning.

Vent hoods (terminations) styles: Roof, wall and soffit. Vent hood styles and features vary greatly and can make a huge difference in how efficient your dryer runs and how fast the duct pipe fills up with lint. In many instances a termination is used that exhibits a grate or screen with small openings. It can take only a few months before this opening is clogged. Louver types or popular but do not keep small birds from lifting the louver and using the warm pipe as a nest. Some of the old 22 degree vents do not open enough and are inefficient in design. Be suspicious of vents with grills or grates. Vent locations: In most cases, the shortest, least restrictive run determines the termination location, but other factors like windows, doors, AC compressors should be considered. Roof vents are very popular in the south and work well for laundry rooms located in the middle of the house. Pushing hot air upwards uses about the same effort as pushing air horizontally or down. If you have adequate soffit width, a soffit vent works well.

Your dryer outlet may not be on the roof, but sticking out the side of the house. It will always vent directly to the outdoors. If you have a shop vac of some type, they are perfect for cleaning the exhaust tube. The diameter and length of the shop vac hose is long enough, and the hose ridges give a great reaming to break any lint on the sides of the hose. best vacuum cleaner in uk 2014First Vacuum by inserting the shop vac hose in the exhaust hose and slide it briskly back and forth... then blow out the rest. best leather cleaner for reclinerClean as the day you bought it.leather care products seattle There are devices available to clean out the entire tube—from dryer to final termination;

basically a brush on a flexible pole. These are most appropriate for long duct runs, usually include 12 feet (3.7 m) of flexible shaft, connect to a cordless drill and come with several brush styles. Reach in and out of the vent slowly. There are many sharp screws and edges inside the vent. Wear gloves and use tools wherever possible. Clean the vent every year or two. Buildup can cause a fire. In some older homes, small homes, converted apartments, etc, it may be impossible and or impractical to duct the dryer to the exterior. This is a serious health issue and you should consider the ill consequences of using an Indoor Lint Trap Kit (tub of water) or venting directly into the attic or crawlspace. Moisture and lint are byproducts of a tumble dryer. Expecting the tub of water to eliminate the moisture and lint is unlikely. Health related articles regarding this issue are numerous and can be found easily online. Mold, allergies, illness, paint peeling off the wall, heavy dust accumulation…

Please avoid or minimize the use of these lint traps. An alternative may be a condensation type of dryer or a HVAC contractor that can install ductwork to the exterior. How Much Does Dryer Vent Cleaning Cost?Why doesn't Angie's List rate attorneys?Landscaping: What do your neighbors do that drives you crazy?How much does it cost to be a member here?How much does it typically cost to paint a 2100 square foot house on the exterior? That's very difficult to answer without seeing the house. As one poster said, the prep is the most important part. On newer homes that don't have a lot of peeling paint, the prep can be very minimal even as low as a couple or a few hundred dollars for the prep labor. On a 100 year old home with 12 coats of peeling paint on it, then the prep costs can be very high and can easily exceed 50% of the job's labor cost.A 2100 sq ft two story home could easily cost $1000 just for the labor to prep for the paint job. That number could climb too. Throw in lots of caullking  or window glazing, and you could be talking a couple or a few hundred dollars more for labor.