Buying a home is an exciting time in the buyer’s life. You’ve finally found that one home that you love and are willing to go into a 30-year payment commitment. Granted most people try to pay extra payments to pay interest off early and therefore pay the home off early. But that’s a completely different blog post and not really our specialty. What we want to talk about today is the dryer vent and hose.
A dirty dryer vent or hose isn’t a reason to back out of your proposed mortgage, but it is absolutely something you need to consider having cleaned shortly after the papers are signed. Dryer fires are the cause of more than 16,000 house fires per year. They are responsible for almost 400 injuries, 50 deaths, and more than $200 million in property damage every year.
Clothes washers and dryers are responsible for roughly 5% of all home structure fires in the United States. That’s a lot of fires started by the very appliances that are designed to make our lives easier. Washer fires are usually caused by mechanical or electrical issues. Dryer fires are usually caused by electrical, mechanical, heat, or dryer vent issues.
Cleaning the dryer vent isn’t quite as straightforward as you would think. The lint that you remove from the trap after every load of laundry is only the big pieces that get trapped by the screen. Smaller pieces of lint pass through and become stuck in the dryer hose and may eventually block the vent.
Those small pieces of lint are extremely flammable. One spark of static electricity has the potential to start a fire. Removing the lint with a plastic brush could create static and start a fire no matter how careful you are during the cleaning process.
Our certifications include C-DET, which is Certified Dryer Exhaust Technician, training. This means that we have been trained to properly remove the lint from the dryer hose and vent using specialized tools that lower the risk of fire.
The CSIA certified chimney sweeps and dryer vent technicians at Lou Curley’s Chimney Service in Drexel Hill are waiting to hear from you. We’re a family-owned and operated company with more than 20 years of experience in the field. We work to further our education and gain or renew our certifications every year so that we can offer you the best in chimney and dryer vent services. Give us a call at 610-626-2439 if you’re in Drexel Hill or anywhere along the Main Line and in need of chimney or dryer vent services.