Dryer Vent Cleaning in Ellsworth, ME
Tell us about your home, and a licensed contractor who covers Hancock County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Step 1 of 3: Equipment
Cold vents catch more lint
Your dryer pushes out warm, damp air, and that air has a long way to travel through a vent that sits in a cold space most of the year. Once it hits the cold metal, it cools fast, and the moisture in it settles on the walls of the vent. Lint sticks to a damp surface far more than a dry one, so the buildup packs in tighter with every load.
A vent that is narrowing with lint pushes moist air back toward the dryer instead of outside. That moisture has somewhere to go, and it is not always outdoors.
- 14°F
- the average winter night, and cold vents catch damp lint
- 9 months
- September through May, 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 for most households. If you run several loads a day, or the vent run is long with bends, clean it more often. A vent that's clear moves moist air out fast, and with heat needed here from September through May, a clogged vent means more months where warm moist air is fighting to get out against cold air pushing back in.
- Can I clean my dryer vent myself?
- You can clean the lint trap and the first few feet of duct behind the dryer yourself. What you can't reach is the rest of the run out to the vent hood, especially where it bends or passes through an attic or crawl space. A contractor uses a brush and vacuum built for the full length of the vent, and can check that the vent hood flap opens and closes the way it should.
- What are the signs of a clogged dryer vent?
- Clothes that come out hot but still damp, a dryer that runs longer than it used to, and the top of the machine feeling hot to the touch. You might also notice weak airflow at the vent hood outside, or lint gathering around it. A burning smell means stop using the dryer and have the vent checked before you run it again.