Rant: I wasted 2 years cleaning dryer vents the lazy way

I used to just run a brush down the vent pipe from the outside and call it good. Thought that was enough until a customer in Portland called me back 3 weeks later saying their dryer still took 2 hours to dry a load. I went back and actually pulled the dryer out, disconnected the entire run, and found a massive lint clog right where the pipe bends behind the machine. The brush was just pushing lint past that bend and making it worse. That moment made me realize I had been doing a half-baked job on probably 50+ houses before that. Now I always disconnect and check the first 4 feet from the dryer regardless of what the outside looks like. Has anyone else found a sneaky clog spot that you never thought to check?

2 comments

2 Comments

eric_murphy361mo ago

Wait, is that what's been happening with my own dryer acting up lately (it's been taking forever but the outside vent feels clear)? I never would have guessed the brush could actually make things worse by jamming lint into a bend, that's honestly kind of terrifying to think about for all the times I've done the same lazy method.

christopherwilliams1mo ago

Wait, did I just get flashbacks to the time I spent 2 hours cleaning my vent with a brush only to find my dryer still took 3 cycles to dry a single towel? I felt like a genius until I realized I'd basically been packing lint into the bends like I was making a bird's nest. My wife still brings up the night I proudly showed her my "clean" vent and then the basement nearly caught fire from the lint I pushed into a 90-degree turn. She calls it my "dryer arts and crafts" project. Honestly, I'm just glad my house is still standing after all those lazy cleaning sessions.