The following guest post has been contributed from Gary Gentry of Quality Residential Inspections, Raleigh NC. Thank you for your insight, Gary!
An estimated 8 out of 10 households have a clothes dryer in their homes and they’re used on a regular, consistent basis without too much thought. What mighty fine pieces of modern marvel they are too. Those ole’ trusty clothes dryers! They certainly make life easier and they’re generally safe to operate. Let’s be honest…we take our clothes dryers for granted. We wash our clothes, toss them in the dryer and expect that the end result will be an uneventful load of nice, dry, clean-smelling laundry. And, indeed, that is the usual result. But, as with many of the relatively complex systems that comprise a home environment, there are some safety considerations to ponder and of which we need to maintain an awareness.
The clothes dryer and its venting system need…no, require… periodic maintenance to keep you safe and to dry your clothes as efficiently and inexpensively as possible.
Again, clothes dryers are generally safe…as long as they are properly installed, well-vented and receive periodic maintenance. Maintenance, you say? You mean like changing the oil in the family car? Well, yes…precisely that sort of routine maintenance, albeit on less frequent basis. The clothes dryer and its venting system need…no, require… periodic maintenance to keep you safe and to dry your clothes as efficiently and inexpensively as possible. Let’s examine those two concepts as they relate to clothes dryers…those of safety and of monetary efficiency.
The Importance of Safety
As for the safety aspect, its really fairly simple. Your clothes dryer has the potential to catch fire and burn your house down… and you could be a casualty as a result. Between 2004 and 2006, according to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS), there were an estimated 15,600 residential fires that required a fire department response. Those fires caused an estimated annual monetary loss of $99 Million along with 400 injuries and 15 fatalities. The leading cause of those fires was determined to be “failure to maintain”.
What causes these expensive (and sometimes deadly) clothes dryer-related fires in the first place?
Clothes dryers do their job by forcing heated air through a rotating drum that contains your load of laundry. As the moisture is released, lint is created from the fibers of the content…clothing, towels, etc. Most of the lint is filtered by the clothes dryer filter, the one we are familiar with that’s usually located inside the door or on top of the unit and most of us are familiar with the need to clean that filter after every load of laundry. But some of that lint makes it past the filter and can collect in the ductwork between the clothes dryer and the exhaust hood (the discharge end of the duct that should…should, I say, be located be at the exterior of the building). The accumulation of lint inside the ductwork, and/or in an un-cleaned filter, serves to create a restriction to the airflow and a concentration of lint which is a very combustible fuel source.
As a Raleigh Home Inspector and owner of a Raleigh home inspection firm, I routinely observe and report on clothes dryer ducts that are in very poor condition. Often, the types of installed ducts are conducive to venting problems. There are generally four different types of ducts: rigid, semi-rigid, flexible foil and flexible plastic.
It’s these conditions of improperly installed ductwork, the use of unsafe or improper ductwork, or a failure to maintain the cleanliness of the ducts that cause the most troublesome issues.
A Damaged Dryer Duct. Image courtesy of Gary Gentry.
Rigid metal ducts that are smooth on the inside; these are by far the safest types of ducts because they aren’t prone to sagging and are relatively easily cleaned. Semi-rigid, semi-flexible ducts are not quite as “good” as rigid metal ducts, but are also a reasonable choice. And then there are the other two types…flexible foil and flexible plastic.
The latter two types account for the majority of deficiency issues that I see relating to clothes dryer ducts. They are thin, are prone to sagging and to physical damage, are not able to be readily cleaned, and…well…should just be avoided. Those plastic ducts will not only do absolutely nothing to contain a fire should one start in or near the duct, they will themselves readily burn.
Then there’s the “failure to clean” aspect where the duct is mostly blocked with lint. It’s these conditions of improperly installed ductwork, the use of unsafe or improper ductwork, or a failure to maintain the cleanliness of the ducts that cause the most troublesome issues. It’s worthy of note that most all manufacturers of clothes dryers disallow the use of those horrid plastic flexible ducts; nonetheless, I’ve seen them used in many homes…even in newer homes! Also worthy of note is that in most jurisdictions, those plastic flexible ducts have never been allowed to penetrate floors or walls… but that’s a commonly observed configuration as well.
Watch Out for the Birds!
Clogged Dryer Duct Hood. Image courtesy of Gary Gentry.
Even when an acceptable material has been installed, ductwork can be damaged (e.g. that portion of the duct that is behind the dyer between the dryer and the wall). Dryer duct hoods can get bent or become clogged with lint. Or the backdraft damper of the hood, a hinged “flapper valve”, can be incapacitated such that it doesn’t fully close; when this happens, vermin such as rodents can enter the duct or birds can enter the duct and build nests that can severely restrict or block the airflow.
The Monetary Impact If You Don’t Maintain Your Dryer or Its Duct Work
A dryer that’s not well-vented, that has a clogged filter, or that has a partially or wholly clogged vent duct has to work all that much harder, and longer, to dry your clothes. Any or all of those conditions will contribute you to having to spend more of your hard-earned money to operate the dryer and can directly (and quickly I might add) lead to outright failure of the dryer. Simply put, it’ll cost you more money to do your laundry while your clothes dryer approaches its pending failure. Then, when it quits, you’ll have the unanticipated opportunity to plunk down a considerable amount of money to replace it. Not a pleasant scenario.
What can you do to prevent potential catastrophe and operate your clothes dryer as efficiently as possible?
- Clean your clothes dryer duct, or have it cleaned, on a regular basis; annually might be good starting point but some systems might require more frequent cleaning.
- Make sure that the duct system is in a safe and fully functional condition. Have a professional assess the condition and configuration of the system in your home*. Such a professional might be a licensed Home Inspector or a licensed Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) professional…either of these types of professionals should be able to assess your system and make pertinent recommendations. In many instances where flexible foil or flexible plastic ducts have been installed, a recommendation to replace those types of ductwork with a more suitable product, one that is both safer and is more readily cleaned, would not be unreasonable.
- Don’t forget to regularly empty your lint screen too. We recommend after every cycle. The more lint you have in the screen itself, again, the harder your dryer has to work.
*This is most commonly done during the purchase process if you’re a home buyer. However, if it’s been awhile, it doesn’t hurt to check it again.
In summary, clothes dryers are great inventions that make our lives easier on a daily basis. However, we tend to take them for granted and, if not well-installed or properly maintained, they can be problematic. An improperly configured duct system or the use of certain types of dryer ducts or a failure to maintain the system can lead to an excessive consumption of your money. Much worse and of greater importance, these deficiencies can cause a house fire that can cause significant damage to your home, or worse – take your life. Inspect your system and its installation, or have it evaluated by a professional and repaired or corrected as needed. The condition of your wallet, and maybe even your very life, may depend on it!
Are there any other tips you’d recommend? Please leave a comment below.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Great advise. We along with many of our customers have had lint build-up in dryer ducts and dryer duct hoods. It does cause a decrease in efficiency and could lead to a fire.
We’re glad you find this information useful. If you have any similar topics that you think we need to cover, let us know.
By the way, many of us went home to check our dryer ducts after we read this too. It was a good reminder!