Dryer Vent Cleaning in San Antonio, TX
Tell us about your home, and a licensed contractor who covers Bexar County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Step 1 of 3: Equipment
Cold nights make lint stick harder
Every load of laundry pushes warm, damp air down the vent and out through the wall. Winter nights here average 43°F, cold enough that the air cools fast once it hits the metal duct. The moisture in it turns to dampness on the vent walls, and lint does not just blow through a damp vent. It sticks.
That buildup narrows the path the air has to take to get outside. The dryer has to push harder to move the same load of air, and what does get through carries more lint with it, adding to what is already stuck there.
- 43°F
- the average winter night, and cold vents catch damp lint
- 5 months
- November through March, 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. If you run large loads often, or the vent run is long with a lot of turns, clean it more often than that. Lint builds up inside the duct where you can't see it, not just in the trap, and that's what a yearly cleaning clears out.
- Can I clean my dryer vent myself?
- You can clean the first few feet from the back of the dryer yourself, using a vent brush kit made for this. What you can't reach that way is the rest of the run, especially if it goes up through a wall or roof, or if it bends more than once. A contractor uses a longer brush and a vacuum strong enough to pull lint out the far end, which is the part most homeowners can't do from indoors.
- What are the signs of a clogged dryer vent?
- Clothes that take longer than usual to dry, or that come out hot but still damp, are the first sign. Others are the dryer running hotter than normal to the touch, a burning smell, or the outside vent hood barely moving air when the dryer is on. If you check the hood and feel weak airflow, or almost none, that's a clogged vent and it should be cleared before the dryer runs again.