Many homeowners ignore a few very important areas of their home. This doesn’t happen because they’re bad homeowners or because they like to tempt fate; they simply don’t think about these areas because they’re out of sight and out of mind. Unfortunately some of these areas can pose serious health risks to everyone who lives in the home. Here are a few different areas of the home that need professional inspection and cleaning at least once per year.
- Dryer Vent – The dryer vent is the small vinyl vent that opens to allow heated, humid air to escape your dryer through the hose. The vent may become blocked with lint or stuck closed, rendering all of the effort your dryer puts forth worthless.
- Dryer Hose – The dryer hose extends from the dryer to the dryer vent. This is the part that carries the heated, humid air to the vent and allows it to blow away. The corrugated dryer hose can capture lint and other debris, creating a blockage. Dryer lint is very flammable, and the smallest spark can ignite a dryer fire.
- The Chimney – Many homeowners feel that the chimney is made of brick or rock, so it’s perfectly stable and sturdy enough to last forever. While this would be ideal, it is simply not true. The chimney needs to be inspected and cleaned at least once per year; more if it is used on a regular basis.
- Flue Pipes – The chimney isn’t the only area you may find a flue. The furnace, water heater, boiler, and generator are just a few other appliances that could vent to a flue. This means the flue needs the same type of attention as the flue inside your chimney.
- Fireplaces and Other Heat Producing Appliances – These appliances connect to a flue which does need inspection and cleaning occasionally, but the appliances themselves also need attention from year to year.
You can generally find YouTube videos about the proper care and inspection of all of these elements of your home. The DIY route is preferred by some homeowners, and online resources are quite valuable. But we fully understand that not all homeowners are familiar with DIY home improvement projects or comfortable with the idea of cleaning the dryer vent hose or chimney flue on their own. That’s perfectly okay, and we respect the decision to hire a professional C-DET technician or CSIA Certified chimney sweep for the job. Give us a call at 610-626-2439 if you would like to schedule an appointment for a dryer vent cleaning with one of our C-DET technicians or a chimney inspection with our CSIA Certified Chimney Sweeps.