Cleaning Dryer Vent Pipe

The vent on a clothes dryer can become clogged with lint over time causing the dryer to dry less efficiently and resulting in dangerous house fires.

Cleaning dryer vent pipe.

The first thing you have to do is locate where the duct begins and ends. To clean your dryer vent remove the outside cover on the vent and use a special lint brush with an extendable handle to clean the inside of the pipe. Vacuum attachments alone do not work as well because they do not agitate the lint to remove it from the walls of the duct and they can t reach deep enough inside the dryer s lint filter housing. Before climbing up to the roof get behind the dryer to vacuum out the vent.

You can put the tube of the vacuum directly up the vent. So moral of the story. Safely disconnect the dryer. In order to properly clean your dryer s ventilation system you have to first know where it is.

The tools and supplies you need to clean a dryer vent duct include a vacuum with a long hose attachment dryer vent brush kit screwdrivers and ul listed metal foil duct tape. These dryer vent cleaner kits you attach to drills actually work very well. There should be clamps that connect the exhaust pipe of the dryer to the vent. You may need to use a screwdriver to disconnect the vent clamp.

Use a screwdriver to release these so that you can vacuum. Once you can access the area behind the dryer you need to remove the vent hose by loosening the clamp. You might be able to loosen the clamp by hand. Here s how to clean your dryer vent in 5 easy steps step 1.

I then went outside and pulled the rope through the length of the pipe with circular brush at end and it dislodged the brush stuck within plus a big additional lint plug. This was on the inside of the house where vent pipe started. Start by moving the dryer away from the wall. Thorough dryer vent cleaning requires special brushes.

Now that you know the start and end points of your duct it s time to disconnect. If you have a gas dryer turn the supply valve off while cleaning. Disconnect the dryer duct from the back of the dryer.