Dryer Vent Cleaning in Wenatchee, WA
Tell us about your home, and a licensed contractor who covers Chelan County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Step 1 of 3: Equipment
Cold vents turn dryer lint into a wet clog
Your dryer pushes out warm, damp air, and from September through June that air is hitting a vent run sitting in cold. On nights that average 22°F, the metal cools fast, and the moisture in that exhaust condenses on the inside walls before it makes it outside. Lint doesn't just blow through a vent like that. It sticks.
Once lint holds dampness, it packs down instead of drying out and clearing. That slows the airflow your dryer depends on, and it gives a wet mat of lint a place to sit against the ductwork all winter.
- 22°F
- the average winter night, and cold vents catch damp lint
- 10 months
- September through June, the vent stays cold
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- How often should a dryer vent be cleaned?
- Once a year is the general rule, and a contractor can tell you if your setup needs it more often. A longer duct run, one with several bends, or heavy dryer use all mean lint builds up faster. It collects inside the duct even when you clean the lint trap every load, since the trap never catches all of it.
- Can I clean my dryer vent myself?
- You can clean the part you can reach, but that is usually not the whole job. Pulling the dryer out and vacuuming the first few feet of duct helps, and so does clearing the vent hood outside where lint tends to build up. The lint further down the duct, especially past any bends, takes a brush and rod system run from both ends to actually clear it.
- What are the signs of a clogged dryer vent?
- Clothes that stay damp after a full cycle is the clearest sign. Others include the dryer running hotter than usual, the outside vent hood barely moving when the dryer runs, a burning smell, or the dryer taking noticeably longer than it used to for the same size load. Any one of these means air is not moving through the duct the way it should.