Dryer Vent Installation: Is your Dryer Vent Installed Properly?

Dryer Vent Installation and Dryer Vent Cleaning: If you are pretty good about the maintenance of your household appliances, you are quite a bit ahead of many other people. But there are some things you may not know to check for that can still crop up and cause you problems in your clothes dryer. One of these things is making sure you have the best dryer exhaust system for your dryer.

UL Rating

First, you need to know the rating of the products you are using. The UL rating should be printed somewhere on the information about the parts that make up your vent system. While most of the more recent clothes dryers that have been installed are UL approved, there are many people using clothes dryers that have been in place for many years, or have just changed out the dryer, but not the dryer vent system. That means it's time to pull your dryer out, or have a professional do it for you, and make sure the parts of the vent system are up to the newer standards.

Shortest Distance

Just like so many other things in life, the shortest distance to the destination is the best plan of action for your clothes dryer. The vent system has to carry hot air and lint out of your home and the more piping it has to work through the harder it has to work. Additionally, the more line there is to make it through the more chance that lint will get caught up in the line and start to clog up the pipes which can cause a fire hazard and reduce the efficiency of your dryer.

Too Many Bends

Some dryer lines have a lot of bends and turns before they finally get the hot air out of your house. These turns will restrict airflow from your machine, reducing the performance of your dryer and increasing drying time for your clothes. Dryer vent repair services are necessary to fix this problem.

Smooth Material

What does your vent pipe feel like inside? While you may not think this matters, it does. You want to have a smooth inside to your vent pipe because that will improve performance when it comes time to dry your laundry due to the smoother airflow.

The pieces and parts that make up the exhaust system for your clothes dryer are very important aspects of the entire system that gets your clothes dry at the end of the day. If you don’t know what makes up the rest of the system, it's time to find out, or call in a professional to inspect and evaluate your dryer vent system.

Dryer Vent Wizard provides dryer vent cleaning, dryer exhaust inspection, dryer duct installation and repairs for homes and businesses in Palm Beach County, Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Highland Beach, Gulfstream, Ocean Ridge, Boynton Beach, Lantana, Manalapan, Hypoluxo, Lake Worth, Lake Park, Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, North Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Loxahatchee, Jupiter, Tequesta, Greenacres, Broward County, Coral Springs, Tamarac, Sunrise, Plantation, Weston, Davie, Pembroke Pines, Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, and neighboring cities and communities.

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Laundry Room Storage Areas: Be Careful what you Store near the Dryer

If you are like a lot of people, your clothes dryer is in a laundry room that also serves a number of purposes. It is not just a place to wash your clothes, but also often a place for the safe keeping of a number of other cleaning supplies, all those grocery bags that stack up, pet foods, and whatever else you just couldn't find a spot for somewhere else. If your dryer is in your garage, you may even have a lot of tools, paints and other garage-type items in the same area. While this seemed to be a perfect place to store things when you first were sorting out your home, your desire to have a neat house could also be presenting a danger to your family and your home.

It is important to remember that a clothes dryer is a machine that creates heat to do its job. With this said, anything that is combustible should be kept well away from the dryer. This not only means open and closed containers of combustible chemicals, but also any rags or other items that may have those chemicals on them. Many a mechanic is great at cleaning up all the fuels and chemicals he uses after working on the car, but those rags that were being used, which are now soaked in fuels and oils, are a wick just waiting for an ignition source.

Next, you should consider any other items near the clothes dryer. While you may not think things like your dog food bag or the plastic bags from the supermarket are a real fire hazard, just remember the basic premise of a dryer. It heats. That means anything near it is going to get hot. Think of a mess of plastic bags melting to the side of your dryer and that is just the messy part. It is important to remember that a clothes dryer can give off sparks. If those sparks land on cold tile or something that is resistant to heat, that's ok, but if you have papers, plastic bags and other easy to light items in the area you could be setting yourself up for disaster.

Always remember a dryer is a serious piece of machinery and should be treated as such. Try to give your dryer plenty of space, by keeping items away from it so it can do its job with less of a threat to your home.

Dryer Vent Wizard provides dryer vent cleaning, dryer exhaust inspection, dryer vent installation and repairs for homes and businesses in Palm Beach County, Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Highland Beach, Gulfstream, Ocean Ridge, Boynton Beach, Lantana, Manalapan, Hypoluxo, Lake Worth, Lake Park, Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, North Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Loxahatchee, Jupiter, Tequesta, Greenacres, Broward County, Coral Springs, Tamarac, Sunrise, Plantation, Weston, Davie, Pembroke Pines, Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, and neighboring cities and communities.

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Annual Dryer Vent Cleaning Tips for Palm Beach Consumers

Have Your Dryer Vent Inspected and Cleaned Once a Year!

Recently a dryer fire was reported in Boynton Beach. The home on Chrysanthemum drive was a total loss. Mrs. Pittman, an animal trainer was able to save her dogs, but sadly four cats died in the fire. The day before, Gena Brown of Lexington, MA lost her life to a house fire that was caused by lint build up. The heroic mother managed to save her two daughters but sadly she perished in the fire.

Unfortunately, this happens more often than you think. The US Fire Administration reports there are 15,600 dryer fires annually resulting in 15 deaths and almost $100 million in damages. “FAILURE TO CLEAN” is listed as the main reason by the US Fire Administration. That is why Consumer Product Safety Commission, Underwriter Laboratories and Consumer Reports all recommend inspecting and cleaning your dryer vent once a year.

How does it happen? The lint screen in your dryer only catches a portion of the lint produced by your dryer. The rest of it is expected to be vented outside via the dryer venting system. Over time the lint builds up inside the vent causing the dryer to overheat and eventually catch on fire. Other reasons why it happens include improper installation of the dryer, a venting system not up to code, excessive human or pet hair, a bird nest or an animal in vent, drying fabrics with combustibles on them, etc. That is why an inspection is always needed before a cleaning.



Even if it does not result in a dryer fire, a dirty vent is inefficient and costs more money because the dryer runs longer. Among the ten most important tips to reduce electrical consumption in residential homes, FPL recommends to clean your lint screen regularly and to use a dryer with an automatic cycle. Unfortunately, both tips produce zero savings if the vent is partially or fully clogged! How expensive it can be? It has been calculated that if one dries 6 loads of clothes per week and it takes 2 hours to dry a normal load vs. the normal 45 minutes , the dryer will cost (national average) and extra ~$435/year to run. In Florida however this rate is higher because electricity is more expensive and because if the dryer is in the house, it will heat up the house, causing the AC to run longer.

Therefore, everyone is urged to have their dryer vents inspected by a professional dryer vent cleaning company at least once a year to be sure they are in good working order and are not clogged with lint, human and/or animal hair. The fee for dryer vent cleaning service is very little compared to the cost of repairs and loss of lives as the result of a fire.

This article was written by Horatio Chiorean of Dryer Vent Wizard, a company who cleans and installs dryer vent systems. Dryer Vent Wizard takes pride in helping homeowners prevent dryer vent fires with annual dryer vent cleaning. As a result, customers reduce their utility bills and prolong the life of their clothes dryer. Visit http://www.dryerventwizard.com for more information.

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Dryer Vent Cleaning Tips for Palm Beach Florida Residents

Don’t Let Your Dryer Start a Fire! Keep Your Palm Beach Home Safe and Sound.

Most people are conscientious about having their furnace cleaned, however, very few people think of their clothes dryer in relation to appliance maintenance. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission over 15,000 dryer fires are reported annually. Most of these fires could have been prevented with annual dryer vent cleaning and maintenance. Amazingly, your clothes dryer is more likely to cause a fire than your furnace or stove! Dryer Vent Wizard of Palm Beach Florida recommends annual dryer vent cleaning.

Dryer Vent Cleaning Prevents Carbon Monoxide Risk in Palm Beach, Florida

Besides being a fire hazard, improper dryer venting also poses a carbon monoxide risk. The dryer vent system removes gas by-products from your home if you have a gas dryer. Dryer Vent Wizard recommends a complete inspection of your dryer vent system to be sure it is functioning safely.

Dryer Vent Cleaning Reduces Energy Bills in Palm Beach, Florida When a dryer vent and the dryer ducts are clogged with lint, air flow is restricted, causing the dryer to work harder and use more energy. This creates higher utility bills and a greater chance of the appliance breaking down. Appliance repairs and/or replacement can be expensive. Your clothes dryer will last longer with proper dryer vent cleaning and maintenance. Dryer Vent Wizard provides dryer vent cleaning, maintenance, repairs, installation and dryer vent inspections in Palm Beach, Florida.

Dryer Vent Cleaning Prevents Fires in Palm Beach, Florida

A clothes dryer fire is caused by lint build-up which restricts airflow and then leads to overheating. The heat and the combustible lint are the main ingredients for a clothes dryer fire. Dryers produce a lot of lint and simply cleaning the lint screen is not enough. Though the lint filter catches most of the lint, some will escape and end up in the dryer vent system. The dryer ducts remove lint and moisture from your clothes; therefore, the moist lint doesn’t always make it to the vent outside of your home. It can stick to the sides of the ducts where it builds up and eventually dries to a hard paste. This hard paste attracts more sticky lint, eventually creating a blockage.

Dryer Vent Inspections and UL Safety Standards in Palm Beach Florida
Underwriters Laboratories is an independent product safety certification organization that has been testing products for safety for over a century. Dryer Vent Wizard will inspect your dryer vent system to be sure it meets UL Safety standards in Palm Beach, Florida.

Dryer Vent Wizard of Palm Beach Recommends Shorter Dryer Ducts

It used be that most clothes dryers were in the basement, on an outside wall, with a relatively short, straight vent to the outdoors. These days many newer homes tend to have their laundry area located away from an outside wall; some are on the second floor. This means dryer vents are much longer and contain some elbows and bends where lint can accumulate. They’re also harder to reach therefore more difficult to keep cleaned. The ideal dryer vent system is short and straight. Dryer Vent Wizard has special tools for reaching the hard to get to places.

Dryer Vent Wizard of Palm Beach Only Uses Rigid Venting Material

Dryer ducts should be made of rigid or semi-rigid metal, flexible foil or vinyl type that was used in the old days. The flexible vinyl type of tubing crushes easily and restricts air-flow. Dryer Vent Wizard professionally installs semi-rigid metal dryer vent systems in Palm Beach, Florida.

Dryer Vent Wizard of Palm Beach Inspects to Ensure Proper Installation

Dryer Vent Wizard does not advise use of sheet metal screws when attaching multiple sections of vent pipe together. They use foil tape instead to eliminate protuberances that cause obstructions where lint can accumulate, eventually leading to a restriction which hampers dryer vent cleaning and allows lint to build up.

A Tip about Cleaning the Lint Screen

Few people are aware that the dryer vent screen should be washed thoroughly with warm soapy water every few months to remove residue build up caused by dryer sheets. It is actually possible for the lint screen to have so much build-up on it that it will hold water! This definitely restricts air flow and causes the dryer to take more than one cycle to properly dry a load of clothes.

Bugs, Mice and Critters in Palm Beach, Florida

If you have mice in your house, you have probably called exterminators or tried your own critter traps to get rid of the pests. But this is just a temporary solution until more critters come in. The only effective way to get rid of them for good is to stop them from getting into your home in the first place. The one major path of entry that mice have into your home is the dryer vent.

Birds have been known to build nests in dryer vents which prevent lint from escaping. Bees, wasps and hornets nests have also been found in dryer vents. Dryer Vent Wizard of Palm Beach, Florida recommends annual dryer vent cleaning and regular inspections to be sure the dryer vent system is free of clogs.

Dryer Vent Cleaning and Tips from Dryer Vent Wizard of Palm Beach, Florida

Make sure your dryer vent system is up to city, state and manufacturer’s codes
Replace plastic or foil vent with semi-rigid or solid meta material
Keep the lint screen clean; check before and after each load
Wash lint screens with soap and water every few months to remove residue from fabric softener sheets
Have professional dryer vent cleaning done annually
Don't keep combustibles like chemical cleaning products or chemical laden rags near your clothes dryer
Don't leave the house or go to sleep with your dryer running
In cold weather, check outside vent cover to make sure it's not blocked or frozen shut

Dryer Vent Wizard of Palm Beach Shares Warning Signs to Watch for

The dryer takes more than one cycle to get a load dry
No lint visible on lint screen
Dryer repeatedly stops during a cycle
Clothes have moldy smell after dry cycle
Clothes are very hot after a dry cycle

Dryer Vent Wizard of Palm Beach, Florida is the dryer vent cleaning and repair expert to call for service. The service call is very little compared to the loss of your home or the lives of you and your family if you should experience a clothes dryer fire. Visit http://www.dryerventwizard.com/ to find a location near you to order a dryer vent inspection.

Still not convinced? Please watch this video provided by Dryer Vent Wizard of Palm Beach, Florida:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/26507771#26507771

Dryer Vent Wizard provides dryer vent cleaning, dryer vent repair, dryer vent installation, dryer vent inspections and all dryer vent services for Palm Beach County, Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Highland Beach, Gulfstream, Ocean Ridge, Boynton Beach, Lantana, Manalapan, Hypoluxo, Lake Worth, Lake Park, Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, West Palm Beach, Loxahatchee, Jupiter, Tequesta, Greenacres, Broward County, Coral Springs, Tamarac, Sunrise, Plantation, Weston, Davie, Pembroke Pines, Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach

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