Chimney Care Company's Blog
We Offer More Than Just Chimney Care!
When you think of chimney care, you think about getting your chimney inspected and cleaned. Maybe you need your flashing replaced, or maybe your dampers are rusty and not closing completely. If you’re having smoke issues, give your chimney care professionals a call and they can fix that for you. But when you call the experts at Chimney Care Co., did you know that there are many other jobs we can do for you? There are many things that we can do that are associated with your chimney. We can fix your chimney crown or your flashing, or we can look into getting you a new chimney cap if yours is rusted or twisted. We can check out the condition of your chimney liner as well, and make sure that your chimney isn’t blocked. These are just a few of the things we’ll be looking at when we come in to do your chimney maintenance each year. We can take care of all of your chimney and fireplace needs, and we can take care of your dryer vents as well!
Dryer Vent Care
Just about every fireplace owner knows that it’s important to have their chimney inspected and cleaned on an annual basis. But did you know that it’s just as important to have your dryer vents cleaned out on an annual basis? Many people don’t realize that clogged dryer vents can be a cause of house fires. We think that just cleaning the lint screen from time to time is doing enough to keep the dryer vents clear, but this just isn’t the case.
How the Drying Cycle Works
When you put your clothes in the washing machine, tiny particles of the cloth will be pulled away from the clothes. This is perfectly normal. When your clothes get thrown in the dryer, the drum spins and the paddles inside the drum carry your clothes from the bottom to the top. From there, they fall back down to the bottom and are carried up again. Warm air is forced through the drum and dries the clothes as they fall. The tiny, loosened particles are blown through as well, and then out through the dryer vent and into the outside air. The air is filtered through the lint screen, which catches many of those tiny, loose particles. This makes up that blanket of lint that you pull out after every load or two. Unfortunately, not all these particles are caught, and those that sneak through go with the moist, warm air through the dryer vent. Some will stick to the vent on the way through, and that’s where the trouble starts As more and more particles stick, eventually, you can have a thick layer of lint lining the vents, and that blanket of lint is extremely flammable. Just one little spark and you could have a devastating house fire.
A house fire is the worst-case scenario, but this layer of lint can cause other problems as well. As your vents fill, it gets harder and harder for the warm air to get through. This causes a strain on the motor of your dryer, causing it to wear out faster than it should. It also means that it takes longer for your clothes to dry. If you find yourself running the dryer cycle for two or three times to get your clothes dry, it could very well mean that your dryer vents are full. These are the reasons that it is so important to have your dryer vents cleaned by the professionals at Chimney Care Co. at least annually, and more often if you notice that there is a problem with slow drying times.
Your Full-Service Chimney and Dryer Maintenance Company
If you’re looking for dryer vent cleaning or chimney care, the best place to turn is Chimney Care Co. Our technicians are fully trained to take care of any maintenance and repairs you may have when it comes to chimney care and dryer vent care, and we’ve received top service awards from Angie’s List, Home Advisor, and the Better Business Bureau. We are certified chimney sweeps and dryer exhaust technicians through the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), which is the highest certification in the industry. This certification gives us access to all the latest education, training, and technologies offered. We stay on top of our trainings so that our customers get the best possible service available.
If you live in Ohio, you know what winter weather is really like. Don’t take chances when it comes to your family’s safety during those cold winter months. Make sure that both your chimney and your dryer are in the best and safest working conditions so that you don’t have to worry about a chimney or a dryer vent fire. We’re not happy until we know that all of our customers are safe and happy, so give us a call soon to set up an appointment to have those dryer vents cleaned!
Did You Know We Serve Northern Kentucky?
When you live and work in a community, you need to know what places to go for different situations. For example, if you need to get your car fixed, you should research the different shops that work best with your schedule and get the job done right. If you are looking to get a new carpet, you find a great flooring store and check out the deals and the service, then ask for advice before picking the right flooring treatment. And if you’re looking for a chimney company, check out the credentials, certifications, and memberships and then give them a call. If you live in the greater Cincinnati area, you know that the place to call is Chimney Care Co. But what you may not know is that Ohio isn’t the only area that we service. We take care of people’s chimneys and fireplaces in northern Kentucky as well!
What to Look For
The professionals at Chimney Care Co. are Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) certified, and members of the National Chimney Sweep Guild and National Fire Protection Association. This gives us access to the top training techniques in the industry. Beyond initial training, it also offers educational opportunities throughout the years, and access to knowledge of any new procedures or regulations that come up. This is invaluable because it ensures that you will have the best service and the best work in the region.
Another thing to look for in a chimney sweep business is variety in the services they provide. At Chimney Care Co. we can take care of your chimney cleaning needs, as well as inspecting your chimney, looking for any repair work or areas of leaking that need to be evaluated and repaired. We’ll clear out your creosote while also making sure that there are no blockages. But beyond taking care of your chimney and fireplace needs, we can also take care of clearing out your dryer vents.
Dryer Vent Cleaning
Many people don’t understand how important it is to have their dryer vents cleaned. Even if you clean out your dryer’s lint screen after every load of clothes, there will also be some lint that gets through and starts to build up in the dryer vents, and that can cause less efficient clothes drying at best, and a dryer and home fire at the very worst. But when you call Chimney Care Co. you can be sure that your dryer vents will be clean and clear.
In Northern Kentucky, Call Chimney Care Co.
If you live in or around Cincinnati, Ohio, calling Chimney Care Co. makes sense. But our expertise isn’t limited to just Ohio! It’s only fair to the great people of northern Kentucky that they are offered the best chimney inspections and cleanings available, and that’s why not only are we proud to serve southern Ohio, we let the good people of northern Kentucky have the best service available as well! Give us a call soon to set up your chimney inspection and cleaning.
How to Know if Your Dryer Vent Needs Repaired
Clothing dryer technology is simple; a heating element warms the air and blows it into the rotating drum of the dryer. When your clothing dryer isn’t working properly, there are few components that could be to blame for the malfunction. Often, problems with clothing dryers are traceable back to the clothing dryer vents. That’s why you should know the signs that your clothing dryer vent requires repairs.
Signs Your Dryer Vent Needs Repairs
Often the first signs that clothing dryer vents aren’t working properly are subtle. For example, each load of clothing will take longer to dry than is normal. You might find that clothes are damp and musty instead of fresh, dry and pleasantly warm. Your dryer might feel unusually hot to the touch when it’s running. Your laundry room might have a strong burning smell or an overwhelming smell of fabric softener. You also might notice that your lint trap fills up faster than usual, or you might see an accumulation of lint around your vents or dryer.
How to Tell if Your Dryer Vents are to Blame
How can you hone in on the true cause of damaged dryer vents? There’s a simple check that should be able to help you determine if your dryer vents are exhausting air the way they should. When the dryer is in use, pay a visit to your external dryer vent, the vent that allows the air from your dryer to exit your home. The flap covering the dryer vent should be forced open while the dryer is in use. You also can place your hand under the vent to verify that air is blowing outward. If air isn’t exiting through the vent when the dryer is in use, it’s time to take action.
Why a Damaged Dryer Vent Matters
A malfunctioning dryer vent is an inconvenience and a hazard. Faulty dryer vents cause thousands of home fires each year, and they can allow dangerous carbon monoxide to leak back into your home. At the very least, a damaged dryer vent can increase your home energy bills, as it takes more cycles to dry your clothes.
Who to Call if Your Dryer Vent Needs Repairs
If your dryer vents clearly aren’t doing their job — or if you suspect that they need to be repaired — call in the experts from the Chimney Care Co. Their technicians can clean your dryer vents to verify that a clog isn’t to blame for your dryer woes. They’ll also inspect the entire dryer vent to make sure that it is in good repair. Your Chimney Care Co. technician will restore your dryer vent’s function so that your clothing dryer once again will run safely and efficiently.
Signs Your Dryer Vents Needs to be Cleaned
Just like your chimney, your clothing dryer vent requires regular cleaning to prevent it from becoming clogged with debris and posing fire and carbon monoxide hazards. Each time you dry a load of laundry, tiny pieces of moist lint bypass the lint screen. First, those moist pieces of lint cling to the sides of your dryer vent, and then they cling to each other until the vent becomes clogged. A clogged vent can overheat, igniting the highly flammable lint or your dryer’s heating mechanism, or it can block carbon monoxide from exiting the vent, forcing it back into your home.
Because of these dangers, the National Fire Protection Association recommends that dryer vents are cleaned at least once per year, or more often for dryers that do a high volume of laundry. When it comes to determining whether your dryer vent need to be cleaned, your dryer will send you signs that its vent is clogged with lint and are no longer working properly. Those signs include:
- Longer than normal drying times. When your dryer isn’t venting properly, it can no longer operate efficiently. That means it takes longer to dry each load of clothes. One of the first signs that a vent is dirty is clothes that are still wet when the drying cycle stops.
- Laundry that is hot to the touch. A clogged vent prevents heat from escaping the dryer. That means you may notice that clothes feel unusually hot when the cycle ends and you go to remove them from the dryer.
- An overheated laundry room. Similarly, if heat isn’t escaping your dryer, it will build up within the laundry room. If your laundry room becomes warm when the dryer is running, that is a sure sign the dryer vent needs to be cleaned.
- A burning, musty or overwhelming laundry smell. A clogged dryer vent also can cause odors to permeate your laundry room when the dryer is in operation. When the vent is clogged, you may smell a burning odor, a musty odor or the overwhelming scent of your fabric softener.
- The accumulation of lint or debris. If lint has filled your dryer vent, new lint doesn’t have anywhere else to go. If the vent is clogged, you may notice lint or debris accumulating around the lint trap, behind the dryer or even on the ground below the spot where the dryer vent exits the home.
- A closed dryer vent flap. The flap that covers your dryer vent outside should open when the dryer is in use, with the force of the air that is being exhausted. If that flap is remaining closed, it means that air is no longer escaping through the dryer vent.
If you notice any of these signs that your dryer vent has become clogged with lint, call The Chimney Care Co. today to schedule a dryer vent cleaning. Our technicians will use rotating brushes to loosen the lint from your dryer vent and then clear away the debris with a high-powered vacuum. We will also inspect your dryer vent system to ensure that it is free from damage and exhausting your dryer safely and efficiently.
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.