07/19/2026
The lint screen catches roughly 25 percent of the fibers your clothes shed. The rest packs into the flexible vent hose, wall duct, and exterior cap. Heat builds up against that compressed lint, and dryer fires kill an average of 5 people and injure 100 every year, according to the U.S. Fire Administration.
Warning signs appear months before a fire: clothes take two cycles to dry, the dryer top runs hot to the touch, the laundry room smells faintly burnt, and the exterior vent flap no longer flutters when the dryer runs.
Pull the dryer out twice a year and disconnect the vent hose. Run a long-handled vent brush through the full duct from the back of the dryer to the exterior wall, then vacuum the cavity behind the machine. Replace any flexible foil or vinyl hose with rigid metal duct, which traps far less lint and doesn't sag.
The whole job takes about 30 minutes and costs nothing if you own a vacuum. A pro vent cleaning runs $100 to $200. Either way, do it before the dryer starts working harder than it should.⠀[Q37X4]
