Chimney Care Company's Blog
The importance of dryer vent cleaning
There’s a fire hazard lurking in your home: Your clothing dryer, or more specifically, your dirty dryer vents. The lint that builds up in your dryer can cause your dryer to overheat and ignite. On top of that, the in itself is highly combustible and likely to cause a fire.
How often should dryer vents be cleaned?
Dryer vents should be cleaned at least once per year, according to the National Fire Protection Association. There are, however, other factors that could lead you to require more frequent cleanings. If you have pets in your home, their fur sticks to your clothing and linens and leads to additional buildup in your dryer vents. If you do a lot of laundry each week, this also means your dryer vents will become clogged more quickly and require more frequent cleanings. You also will want to call in professionals if you notice any changes in your dryer’s function, such as clothes taking a longer time to dry or become abnormally hot, or if you notice the laundry room becoming very warm or filling with the scent of your dryer sheets while the dryer is running.
Why does professional dryer vent cleaning matter?
It can be tempting to pull out your vacuum and use the attachments to clear away the lint from your dryer and dryer vents, but a do-it-yourself dryer vent cleaning isn’t adequate to keep you dryer running safely. There are many catch points where lint is likely to build up, and professionals know where these catch points are, how to access them and how best to clean them. Most dryer vents are made from a flexible, accordioned material that twists and turns to reach an outside terminus. While dryer vent cleaning attachments are available for home vacuum cleaners, they do an inadequate job of reaching all of the nooks and crannies in a dryer vent, leaving homeowners with a false sense of security. A professional dryer vent cleaning utilizes a rotating brush that ensures that the dryer vent is totally cleared of lint and debris.
What are the other benefits of dryer vent cleaning?
In addition to reducing your home’s risk of a dryer fire or carbon monoxide buildup from your dryer, dryer vent cleaning comes with some other benefits. When dryer vents are cleared, your dryer operates at maximum efficiency, reducing your energy bills by lowering drying times. Clean vents also extend the life or your dryer because your dryer does not have to work as hard to dry each load of clothes. When you have professionals clean your vents, they also will inspect the vents and connections for any signs of weakness or damage that could cause a hazard in your home.
To keep your home safe from the dangers of dirty dryer vents, call the professionals at The Chimney Care Co. We’ll make sure your dryer vents are completely clear of debris, free from damage and a safe part of your home’s infrastructure.
Discover the benefits of a woodstove
Images of cold winter nights are often accompanied by visions of a glowing fire — the yellow and orange flicker of flames, woodsy smell and gentle crackling. You can enjoy the ambiance of a wood fire, along with many other benefits, when you install a wood-burning stove in your home.
Lower your home-heating bills
Woodstoves give you the option of heating the rooms you use most. Woodstoves can put out an ample amount of heat. They can be installed either freestanding or inserted into your existing open-hearth fireplace. When a woodstove is heating your main living space, you can lower the thermostat for the rest of the house. Turning your thermostat down by just one degree can lower your home heating bills by 3 percent.
The wood that powers your stove comes at a lower cost than other home-heating methods. If you harvest your own firewood, the fuel is nearly free, save your labor, tools and any fuel. Even if you purchase your firewood by the cord, wood remains a low-cost way to heat your home, costing less per BTU than oil, gas or electric heating.
Reduce your environmental impact
Among those who advocate for sustainable living, wood is the gold standard for home heating. An EPA-certified woodstove is an incredibly efficient source of heat, and produces little pollution. Because the wood would have had released the same amount of greenhouse gases had it been allowed to decay naturally, burning wood for fuel is considered to be “carbon neutral.”
Add comfort and value to your home
Nothing is quite as cozy as a woodstove. It keeps you warm on cold winter nights and creates a sense of comfort. Woodstoves and fireplace inserts can add a sense of style and design to a home. Should you decide to sell your home, a woodstove could help attract buyers who also are looking to reduce their home heating costs and their environmental impact.
Have a source of emergency heat
A long-term power outage during a winter cold snap is a scary proposition: How will you keep your family warm and keep your home’s pipes from bursting? If you have a woodstove or wood fireplace insert, your stove can provide a source of heat during a power outage. While many woodstoves do have electric blowers, they will still provide a decent source of heat during a power outage. That can help keep your home and family safe in an emergency.
If you think you stand to benefit from the installation of a woodstove or a wood-burning fireplace insert, call the experts at The Chimney Care Co. We can talk to you about the advantages of woodstoves and show you all of your woodstoves options. With The Chimney Care Co., you can be confident that you’ll find the heating source that’s right for your home!