Take a moment to inspect your outdoor dryer vent cover and its opening status at the exterior wall of your house. When did you last perform this inspection? The outside vent is among the essential household tasks although it may not be considered during your regular dryer vent cleaning Mississauga exercise.
The entire process of carrying out dryer vent cleaning Mississauga by yourself requires only two hours to finish. The appliance requires assistance from a friend during relocation. A dryer vent filled with accumulated lint and dust represents a serious home fire risk. Contacting a professional will is necessary for you if you have doubts about maintaining either your electric or gas dryer.
1. How Often to Clean an Outside Dryer Vent
Performing quarterly inspections on your outside dryer vents will help boost dryer airflow because of regular cleaning of the dryer vent. A regular cleaning of the outside dryer vent will create faster drying times for laundry items while minimizing home moisture problems.
Step 1: Check the Vent Opening
You should observe the exterior vent as the dryer operates to verify the slats maintain proper opening motion. The dryer should be turned off before you manually open the vent if the slats fail to open normally.
Step 2: Inspect the Vent
Check the hinges for rust and apply lubricant for light coating according to need. The vent requires inspection to check for damage to both cracks and any missing components. The absence of important ductwork parts enables insects and vermin to infiltrate both ventilation systems and laundry space which nobody wants to experience.
Step 3: Remove Lint and Debris
A wire brush or hand should be used to clear clogging lint from the vent system. The need for regular dryer vent cleaning Mississauga increases in humid conditions when moisture creates mats of lint that stick to the vent to cause malfunctions.
Step 4: Wash the Vent Cover
A solution of warm water and dishwashing liquid drops should be used to clean the dirty vent cover using a brush or old cloth. Clean the water through with fresh water afterward and let the surface dry naturally.
2. Tips to Keep the Outside Vent Air Flowing
Regular dryer vent cleaning Mississauga of the outside vent requires maintaining free airflow through the vent opening. Follow these tips:
3. Which Type of Outside Dryer Vent Is Best?
Clothes dryers work by removing moisture from clothing while heat and tumbling activity takes place. That moisture must go somewhere. Both ventless and vented dryers exist in the market but ventless units collect moisture in reservoirs that require regular maintenance and vented units discharge moisture via ventilation ducts to air outside. To avoid mould and mildew growth at home the drying moisture should be released outside the building.
A single opening in a house exterior wall results in both water leakage and air leakage as well as pest entry. The building trade refers to these fixtures as wall caps yet they serve as necessary dryer vent covers that protect your home from outside air entry while allowing ventilation of dryer air and lint. The protective cover blocks both birds and rodents from making nests and blocking airflow through the vent. Homeowners need to choose the right dryer vent cover according to their climate zone and house exterior material.
Different designs along with materials exist for dryer vents. The market provides customers with options between metal and plastic cover choices. Most companies provide plastic vent covers that come in various colours for matching exterior wall materials. For homeowners who choose gas-powered clothes dryers it is strongly advised to use metal exterior ventilation.
The best exterior wall vent cover consists of metal with a magnetic door system that functions as a damper to shut itself during dryer inactivity. The door of the dryer opens automatically when the dryer becomes active to expel air. These covers cost more than plastic vent options which possess multiple slats yet fail to remain in place during dryer non-operation.
