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Have you checked your Dryer vent recently?

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DavidApp

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Our dryer has not been drying that well lately sometimes taking a second cycle to get the job done. Had been looking at getting a new one as this one is about 15 years old.
Last nigh my wife said that the top of the dryer was getting very hot. No burning smell but it was almost too hot to touch.
I unplugged it and pulled it away from the wall. When I got the vent pipe off the back of the dryer I could see what the problem was and why it had not been doing a great job of late. Clogged pipes.

Got it all cleaned up and it is back to its old self. Another 15 years maybe. I will check it more often now. I am not sure when I last looked in the vent pipe.

David
Dryer vent s.jpg
 
I change the vent hose once a year and clean the fitting in the back. Also I always remove the lower portion under the front door and clean out all the dust that accumulates there.
 
One of the stipulations in the lease we'd drawn up for a rental property we owned was that the lessee(s) clear the dryer vent every six months.
As Brer Mick says, it can be a real fire hazard.
 
About twenty five years ago I invented a dryer vent box.
Takes only 4 inches space between dryer and wall.
It's easy to clean out too, just pull the dryer away from the wall.
Now I see they sell them that are adjustable at the big box stores.
 
Make sure your lint screen is intact as well.

Our outlet didn’t have a screen to keep outside critters out and my wife started to complain about the dryer taking forever to dry clothes and making a funny noise. Upon investigation I found a chipmunk had made its way into to the duct and all the way to the dryer and chewed the fan which caused it to be massively unbalanced (hence the noise) and then clogged up the duct by making a nice cosy house (hence the slow drying).

Aside from being a fire hazard and all the rest it’s a tempting place for local fauna to reside if it isn’t protected which could lead to all kinds of issues. Fun!
 
If you have a screen to keep the critters out, make sure you can remove it easily to clean it regularly. A contractor put one on ours and it plugged up with lint before I realized it was there.
 
We have one of the flappy vent doors. That had looked OK when I checked the vent line. Have to look deeper next time.

David
 
We have the slotted floppy vent type that works great.
 
DavidApp said:
Our dryer has not been drying that well lately sometimes taking a second cycle to get the job done. Had been looking at getting a new one as this one is about 15 years old.
Last nigh my wife said that the top of the dryer was getting very hot. No burning smell but it was almost too hot to touch.
I unplugged it and pulled it away from the wall. When I got the vent pipe off the back of the dryer I could see what the problem was and why it had not been doing a great job of late. Clogged pipes.

Got it all cleaned up and it is back to its old self. Another 15 years maybe. I will check it more often now. I am not sure when I last looked in the vent pipe.

David
View attachment 73194
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Since you have so much lint in the exhaust pipe, you probably need to clean out the dryer also.
 
while cleaning the dryer ducts is a PITA - we are fortunate - the dryer tells us when the air flow gets impeded.
 
If it is a new one it probable e mails the service center for you and books a service tech. Most appliances today want to have an internet connection.

David
 
DavidApp said:
If it is a new one it probable e mails the service center for you and books a service tech. Most appliances today want to have an internet connection.

David
Click to expand...
No internet connection here but I can download special instructions apparantly and I beleieve if something goes wrong I hold the phone to it and it tells the tech what is wrong (like my microwave :rolleyes2: )
 
I must admit I had been getting the "Its not drying properly" comment for several months. Every time I used the dryer it seemed OK. Till it was not. I had even looked t new units but put it off for some reason.

David
 
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