Dryer
How Often Should You Clean Your Dryer Vent?
Two different parts of your dryer need cleaning on two very different schedules, and mixing them up is how vents get neglected for years without anyone noticing.
The Lint Trap: Every Load
The lint trap inside the dryer door should be cleaned before every single load, no exceptions. It's quick, it's the habit most people already have, and it's not the same thing as cleaning the vent.
The Vent Line: About Once a Year
The full vent hose, running from the back of the dryer out through the wall to the outside, needs a deeper clean roughly once a year for an average household. Larger households doing more frequent loads should plan on more often than that. This is easy to forget because it's out of sight, but lint builds up along the length of that hose whether or not you're cleaning the trap religiously.
Signs It's Overdue
Clothes taking longer to dry than they used to is usually the first sign. Beyond that, watch for the dryer or laundry room feeling noticeably hotter than normal during a cycle, any burning smell, or visible lint gathering around the outside vent flap on the exterior of the house.
Why This Isn't Just About Drying Faster
A blocked dryer vent is the leading cause of home dryer fires in North America. That's worth keeping in mind the next time a load takes an extra 20 minutes and it seems easier to just run it again — it's not just a performance annoyance, it's a signal worth acting on.
Loads taking longer than they used to?
That's often an overdue vent, and it's worth having it checked.
Call (250) 522-2252Still Stuck?
Call and we'll walk through it with you, or book a technician.