This is one of those chores that’s easy to forget and really worth doing.
Quick answer Unplug the dryer (and shut off the gas if it’s a gas dryer), pull it out, disconnect the duct, and run a dryer-vent brush through the duct and out to the outside flap. Clean the lint screen every load and the vent at least once a year, or sooner if clothes take longer to dry.
Tools & materials
- Dryer vent brush kit (flexible rods that chain together)
- Vacuum with a hose attachment
- Screwdriver or nut driver
- Foil tape (not cloth duct tape)
- Rigid or semi-rigid metal duct if replacing plastic or foil
Steps
- Unplug the dryer. On a gas dryer, close the gas valve and be gentle with the gas line.
- Pull the dryer out and loosen the clamp holding the duct to the back.
- Vacuum the lint from the dryer’s outlet and from inside the duct ends.
- Feed the brush through the duct toward the outside, spinning it the direction the kit says, and pull lint back out. Work from both ends if you can.
- Go outside and clear the vent hood. Make sure the flap opens freely and isn’t screened (screens catch lint).
- Replace any plastic or crushed foil duct with metal duct, keeping runs short and bends few.
- Reconnect, push the dryer back without kinking the duct, and run it on air. Check that air blows strongly outside.
Safety: In 2014–2018, US fire departments responded to an estimated 13,820 home fires a year that involved dryers, and failure to clean was the leading cause (NFPA). Don’t run the dryer when you’re away or asleep.