Dryer Vents, Back-pressure, and allergens

Dryer vents are filthy and contain thousands of allergens, the good news is that most of those allergens are pushed outside your house and into the outside air. Unless your dryer vent is dirty or possibly clogged if a dryer vent is dirty or blocked by debris it causes what is called “back pressure”, just like if water was rolling down a pipe and hit a bump or a clog some of the water would push past it but some of it would end up getting turned around and heading back in the wrong direction. When this happens in a dryer vent the air starts to look for a place to escape, most of the time it will escape behind the dryer and into your laundry room. This is why you see lint start to build up behind the dryer and around it in your laundry room. To prevent back pressure make sure you are getting your dryer vent cleaned regularly this will eliminate back pressure and keep the allergens out of your house.

Not only does back pressure cause allergen to enter your house, but it makes clothes take longer to dry, it also can shorten the life span of your dryer, and increase the risk of a dryer fire. All of these are just a couple of reasons why you should consider having your dryer vent cleaned by a professional yearly just as the NFPA (National Fire Prevention Association) suggests. If you are interested in what a professional dryer vent cleaning should look like and cost visit the home page of our website or call us at (804)-922-3159