Dryer Maintenance Tips
Maintaining your dryer properly can be the difference of saving yourself hundreds of dollars of repair costs over the lifetime of your dryer. Not keeping your dryer lint free can not only cause your dryer to break down more, but the lint build up is a serious fire hazard. Here are 4 things to check.
Lint Filter
Clean the lint filter for the dryer after every load. If you see any tears or rips in the lint filter, replace the filter with a new one. Any large holes in the lint screen will allow lint to get past the filter and prematurely clog up the inside of the dryer or the exhaust vent.
Blower Housing (Area Under Lint Filter)
The area underneath the lint filter is typically called the blower housing. The blower housing is a main air duct where air flows through your dryer. Often, lint will build up in this area and it will need to be cleaned out. On some dryers you can use a small brush to stick into the lint filter opening to clean out the lint, and on other dryers the whole dryer has to be taken apart to clean out the blower housing. This is important to keep clean to maintain good airflow in your dryer.
Dryer Vent
Over time, and even when cleaning the lint screen every load, a small amount of lint still passes by the lint filter and some of it builds up inside your dryer exhaust vent. This lint needs to be cleaned out either by taking the venting apart (if accessible), or by hiring a professional company to clean your vent out. Always make sure to use metal venting. Plastic flexible venting can cause fires, and should be replaced with new aluminum venting.
Dryer Cabinet
The inside cabinet of the dryer will build up with lint over time. This usually doesn’t accumulate very fast, but if you have an exhaust vent that is not sealed up very well then a lot of that lint can circulate back into the dryer. Before pulling your dryer apart, make sure to unplug it first. Some dryers have a front bottom panel that is removable that will give you easy access to cleaning out the cabinet of the dryer. Other dryer models have to be pull completely apart to accomplish this task. If you aren’t very handy, you may need to hire a appliance repair man to do the job for you.