How to easily clean clothes dryer duct

[dragonballz]

I just replaced my old plastic dryer vent with all rigid metal. After I got done, I realized that it would be hard to clean the inside of the duct because it's all rigid metal and I used metal foil tape on the connections.

I was thinking of getting some semi-rigid or flex sections so i can collapse them to make for easy removal but those products got bad reviews on the Depot website because they rip/break easily.

Any ideas on how to make it easier to clean in the future?

 

[danieldd]

They make a dryer vent brush that is about 4 feet long. This is what I use and unfortunately it isn't long enough. My dryer vent is 3 inch PVC that runs a good 15 feet horizontally until it exits outside. Bad mistake. The damp lint sticks to the PVC like glue and eventually blows the thermister and shuts down the dryer. I would suspect the rigid metal ducting which you have would be easier to clean. Depends on how long yours is…

Here is a dryer vent brush that is 10 feet long:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000RL6HFY/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Think i'm going to crank up my leaf blower and clean out the dryer duct. That should do it!

 

[Fizbin]

Think i'm going to crank up my leaf blower and clean out the dryer duct. That should do it!

I hope there's not a grate at the end... then you'd have a bigger problem.

dragonballz: Sadly, I think you're kind of screwed if you want an easy way to clean that metal duct without disassembling it every time. You might have success with danieldd's leaf blower idea.

 

[SALIV8]

Cut up some ez access locations with a snips and foil tape it closed when done cleaning...

 

[buzz4041]

I use my air compressor to blow it out.

 

[Kevin54]

They make a dryer vent brush that is about 4 feet long. This is what I use and unfortunately it isn't long enough. My dryer vent is 3 inch PVC that runs a good 15 feet horizontally until it exits outside. Bad mistake. The damp lint sticks to the PVC like glue and eventually blows the thermister and shuts down the dryer. I would suspect the rigid metal ducting which you have would be easier to clean. Depends on how long yours is…

Here is a dryer vent brush that is 10 feet long:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000RL6HFY/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Think i'm going to crank up my leaf blower and clean out the dryer duct. That should do it!

I didn't think PVC was allowed just because of that reason. There is too much of a fire risk. And I think that with PVC it can also build up static electricity and start a fire. I don't think it is even permissible anymore to use the flex hose. Most have to be vented thru a metal duct now.

 

[dragonballz]

Thanks for the tips.

My set up is like this:

- 90 bend coming out and up from the dryer for 5 feet.

- 90 left for about 6 feet.

- 90 backwards for 1-2 feet going outside.

I like the idea of cutting out a section for quick access. Gonna be hard to cut since its all assembled haha.

 

[dawgee]

plasma cutter should help with dis-assembly

 

[CNGsaves]

^ ^ Cordless sawzall was what my brother always used !! Had to grab that sucker when he was about to "trim up" some sheetrock with the sawzall for window opening.

For dryer vent, no way around it but proper metal duct. The expandable hose **** just grabs all the lint on those ridges.

+1 that PVC should not be used for dryer vent pipe.

 

[dragonballz]

plasma cutter should help with dis-assembly

Well I better get to it before lint starts to accumulate all up in there.

Plasma + lint = ???

 

[toofart]

Leaf blower did it for me.

 

[lilredex]

Just cleaned ours yesterday. It is ridgid pipe.......slipped it off the dryer and the hole in the wall above, and took the hose to it out on the lawn.

Like new again to match the new dryer.

 

[dragonballz]

Just cleaned ours yesterday. It is ridgid pipe.......slipped it off the dryer and the hole in the wall above, and took the hose to it out on the lawn.

Like new again to match the new dryer.

Did you tape the duct at the connection at the dryer and the wall?

 

[arroberts]

I have a brush that has a 20 foot extension for it. I can chuck it to the drill to spin it. I can go in through one end and push to the other. Remove the duct from the dryer and put the brush in, everything gets pushed to the outside wall. I replaced the vent on the outside so I can remove it easily.

 

[66HertzClone]

Our dryer is getting relocated to the second floor of our house, it will be positioned against an interior wall. I had this installed during the framing, the gas line was positioned there as well.

Once the pipe reaches the roof it will connect to this,

I picked the higher unit only because I was concerned that if we had some heavy snow the vent might become blocked.

I am looking for a flange that I could install on the vent pipe a few feet into the attic. I could then easily remove a short section of the vent which would allow me to use one of the brushes with extension wands to clean the vent pipe.

 

[K'ledgeBldr]

Thanks for the tips.

My set up is like this:

- 90 bend coming out and up from the dryer for 5 feet.

- 90 left for about 6 feet.

- 90 backwards for 1-2 feet going outside.

I like the idea of cutting out a section for quick access. Gonna be hard to cut since its all assembled haha.

If your measurements are fairly accurate you're over the code limit for a dryer vent (90* elbows are considered 5'). Max length is 25'.

 

[madison069]

Thanks for the tips.

My set up is like this:

- 90 bend coming out and up from the dryer for 5 feet.

- 90 left for about 6 feet.

- 90 backwards for 1-2 feet going outside.

I like the idea of cutting out a section for quick access. Gonna be hard to cut since its all assembled haha.

Sounds like my dryer vent setup.

I need to clean mine also.

 

[dragonballz]

If your measurements are fairly accurate you're over the code limit for a dryer vent (90* elbows are considered 5'). Max length is 25'.

Max legal straight length is 25'? If so, the numbers I posted were a typo.

Whatever the numbers, it's alot better than what it was.

 

[dragonballz]

Our dryer is getting relocated to the second floor of our house, it will be positioned against an interior wall. I had this installed during the framing, the gas line was positioned there as well.

Once the pipe reaches the roof it will connect to this,

I picked the higher unit only because I was concerned that if we had some heavy snow the vent might become blocked.

I am looking for a flange that I could install on the vent pipe a few feet into the attic. I could then easily remove a short section of the vent which would allow me to use one of the brushes with extension wands to clean the vent pipe.

How do you remove a section if youre using rigid pipe? Where does the room or play come from to allow for the removal? Especially using metal tape on all connections.

 

[66HertzClone]

How do you remove a section if youre using rigid pipe? Where does the room or play come from to allow for the removal? Especially using metal tape on all connections.

I'm looking to install some flat flanges in the rigid duct up in my attic, a short section of the pipe could then be removed to allow access for cleaning. I configure a 2 x 4 to support the weight of the upper section that will connect to the roof vent, and hold the lower portion in place. There is an outlet and lights up there already so I could use the shop vac if I had to or one of those extendable brushes to clean the lint out.

 

[happy]

Get one of these they really help.

]http://www.amazon.com/Lint-Trap-TURN-FASTENING-SYSTEM/dp/B0034BOAYY[/URL]

 

[James E]

Or you could use one of these:

 

[danieldd]

I didn't think PVC was allowed just because of that reason. There is too much of a fire risk. And I think that with PVC it can also build up static electricity and start a fire. I don't think it is even permissible anymore to use the flex hose. Most have to be vented thru a metal duct now.

Its not and thanks for reminding me to do something about it. This was suppossed to be a temporary thing, but that was 9 years ago. We relocated the laundry room to the garage to allow access to the rec room that I built. Our plummer did a temporary hookup of the water lines and dryer duct because I told him it was a temporary situation until I could stub out another laundry room. Well, other things took priority and I never got around to building a final laundry room. For the time being, I'll make the effort to at least replace the PVC with a suitable vent.

 

[66HertzClone]

James E, I'll only get that if Rachel Welch comes with it.

 

[kbs2244]

One of my sons lived in a house that had the washer and dryer in an central upstairs hallway closet..
Vent was a 90 out the back of the dryer then went into the floor, then a 90 between the joists to the back wall of the house.
Straight run but apx 25 feet.
They had the wrong vent cover at the outside.
It didn’t allow enough air flow and the vent clogged up.
I took off the vent cover, turned the dryer on, went outside and ran a dry garden hose like a plumbing snake in from the outside.
Lots of twisting and shaking.
Also lots of lint blowing in my face and all over the back yard.
I replaced the vent cover with one that opened more and the problem was solved.

 

[myamoto1]

I have about a 20' run with multiple bends in it. Vent was clogged and tripped the dryer. I bought 2 of the flexible rod vent cleaner kits from Home Depot and attached it to my wrist wrecker (milwaukie hole shooter). Worked like a champ. Pulled the dryer out and ran the brush in on one length of rod. With a bit of finess (aka - brute force), I got it around the first 2 bends. Added another rod, rinse and repeat until you're outta rods. Did the same thing from the the outside after pulling off the vent cover. Then used a shop vac from the outside to **** up anything that didn't come out with the brush.

 

[BillK]

DB,
You are really making this sound harder than it is. My duct is almost 20 ft. I just have a dryer vent brush that is on the end of a long "spring" shaft, sort of like a drain cleaning snake but a lot more flexible. I just turn the dryer on and feed the brush in from the outside of the house. Feed it in a little and then pull it back out, the dryer will blow all of the lint out. Go a little further the next time and so forth till you get all the way in to the dryer. My duct has 3 90 degree bends in it and it is not an issue. I do it once a year or so and have never had a problem in 30 years. I do not have a "screen" or shutter deal on the outside. it is just open with a 90 degree bend down. I made the 90 on the outside a snug slide on fit so I could pull it off to run the brush straight in.

 

[lilredex]

For anyone interested, these are the vent installation instructions that came with the old dryer.



And to answer that question.....those two joints were not taped as they are inaccessible (inside the dryer and inside the wall). The connections are a snug fit so there is little danger of them coming apart....the dryer would have to move out from the wall. Ours is like Fig 6, above. The connection to the dryer fits over and the other connection fits inside. It is a nat. gas dryer and nobody has been asphyxiated or even smelled anything (headache) in the last twenty-five years. The other joints are taped.

 

[98riv]

Buy this http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0014CN8Y8/?tag=atomicindus08-20. I bought the above item and an extension kit and it works great. Very easy to use and gets everything out of the pipe. Attach a drill and move the brush in and bring it all the way out every so often to clean all of the lint build up out. You will be amazed with how much lint will come out. You may also want to take the time to open up the dryer and clean the lint build up in there. There was a surprising amount of lint that was built up inside of the dryer. There was a small section of the pipe that wasn't sealed and it allowed the lent to escape into the dryer.

 

[Norcal]

Just going to comment about the 3" PVC vent, there are 2 things wrong there, one the PVC, two, the 3" pipe is too small, dryers require a 4" vent.

Rather then do another post thought would add it to here, on Sunday had a problem w/ strange odor from the dryer, turns out the line was clogged, & it took a shop vac to blow it out, could have been a major problem if no one was around.

 

[David99]

I'll second the recommendation 98riv made for the lint eater setup.

 

[toolusername]

While this is certainly not the best solution to the problem, I have had great success in using it on my 50 year old home.

First, I take a 25' Steel Fish Tape and http://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-Universal-Appliance-Brushes-2-Pack-PM14X10056DS/202214683. I then connect the two with zip ties and secure with duct tape for the length of the large brush.

I then remove the outside vent cover and push the assembly above through from where the dryer connects to the vent pipe. This has worked very well for me thus far.

Good luck!

 

[PCO6]

Dryer vent cleaning can be done from the outside as shown in this video.

Similar to the above, I made a simple tool that can be attached to an air line. It's basically a 3 way manifold with a plug in the inlet end and airline fittings in each of the outlet ports. I just attach an air line to 1 of the fittings, drop it down the dryer vent and blow "backwards".

View media item 35864

 

[Lambo nut]

I'll second the recommendation 98riv made for the lint eater setup.

And I will third it!! Just used mine for the first time last Friday. Dryer vent is the rigid metal type and has 2 90's, one after the other, to go down in the wall then to head towards the outside wall. About 15, 16 ft. total. Rods made the turn no problem, (to my surprise). It got the job done going in both ends, but I ordered the extension kit so I can do it all from one end next time. This and a shop vac and you are good to go. Can be done without a shop vac, and the instructions will step you through it, but I like the vac method. Less mess later.

Kevin

 

[JakeKohl]

what about putting in a secondary lint trap? Holmes on Homes always does it (so it MUST be right? ... or overkill )

 

[-Brent-]

Cut up some ez access locations with a snips and foil tape it closed when done cleaning...

This is what I did, kind-of. I have a long run (with a booster fan) and I took two sections and put in flexible stuff. They're just big enough for me to fit the shop vac hose into. Plus, those flex pieces, although stretched, catch more than the galvanized runs.

 

[Milton Shaw]

I did appliance repair for 20 years and most problems with dryers were caused by vent issues. Shorter, straighter is better by far. I have seen 70 foot of plastic flexible drooped from one end of attic to other with each loop between rafters full or water. Seen a lot of fires in dryers because of vent. This is a major fire hazard with something like 10,000 house fires a year because of dryers in this country alone. Plastic is no-no, flex only if there is no other way to do it. Rigid steel is the best and strongest you can get. Mine is 6 feet straight duct that is attached to dryer vent with foil tape, no elbows, no screws and cleaned with 10 foot dryer brush about every 4 months. Clothes dry faster with short vent, dryers last longer and run cooler with correct duct. Often I have opened dryers in homes that had a black layer of lint from dryer fires the customer had no idea they had fire problems. Find how to internally clean dryer and clean internally and pipe at least every year.

 

[yhprum]

I used leaf blower too. Amazing what came out after a few minutes.