From Lint Trap to Lifesaver: How Clean Vents Protect Your Home

How Dangerous Are Clogged Dryer Vents And How Do You Address Them?

A quiet fire hazard hides behind the dryer, and most of us don’t think about it until clothes take forever to dry—or worse. We shine a light on clogged dryer vents: why they form, how they spark danger, and the simple steps that restore safe, efficient airflow. With Tim Rhodes from Premier Restoration of the Carolinas, we unpack what really causes vent blockages, from long, bend-heavy duct runs to those crinkly hoses that ripple and trap lint at every turn.

We get practical fast. You’ll learn the early warning signs—longer cycles, extra heat, weak airflow at the exterior cap—and how newer dryers use error codes to flag trouble while older models quietly overheat. Tim walks through a pro-grade cleaning the right way: clearing the interior and exterior, brushing and vacuuming the full run, and reassembling with care to avoid kinks. We also cover the upgrades that pay off immediately: 4-inch smooth metal ducting, fewer 90-degree turns, low-profile dryer boxes, and better wall terminations that keep air moving and pests out. Most fixes are available at big-box stores, and they’re easy to pair with a pro cleaning schedule.

The big takeaway is simple: airflow is safety. Twice-yearly vent cleanings cut fire risk, lower energy bills, and make laundry faster. Clean the lint screen every load, give the dryer space behind the wall, and don’t ignore airflow codes or hotter-than-normal surfaces. If you’ve been drying a load twice or smelling hot, dusty air, it’s time to act. Subscribe for more home protection tips, share this with a friend who’s always doing laundry, and leave a review to tell us your smartest dryer upgrade. If disaster strikes, call 888-847-2214 or visit online—when things go wrong, we make it right.

To learn more about Premier Restoration of the Carolinas visit:
https://www.PremierRestorationoftheCarolinas.com
Premier Restoration of the Carolinas
888-847-2214

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:03):
Welcome to Restor with Premier Restoration of the
Carolinas, where we turn floods,fires, and moldy mayhem into
clean slates and fresh starts.
Hosted by Tim Rhodes, the guywho's been knee-deep in
disaster, so you don't have tobe.
If your home or business hasbeen through it, don't panic.
Tim's here to talk recovery,restoration, and everything in

(00:26):
between.
Let's get things restored.

SPEAKER_02 (00:38):
It's one of the most overlooked fire hazards in the
home.
In this episode, we uncover therisks of clogged dryer vents and
how to keep your home safe andefficient.
Welcome back, everybody.
Skip Monty here, co-slashproducer, back in the studio
with owner of PremierRestorations of the Carolinas
and our local professional, TimRhodes.

(00:59):
Tim, how's it going?
Good, how are you, Skip?
Doing great.
Doing great.
Glad to be back with you.
So let's talk about howdangerous clogged dryer vents
really are and how how youaddress them.
Because that's something that I,you know, deal with a lot.
Sometimes it's hard to rememberto clean those things out.
How do you, how dangerous arethey?

SPEAKER_01 (01:23):
Well, if you Google, everybody Googles these days, so
if you Google, you know, firesin the US, it's like, you know,
on average, it's like annuallyis like 16,000 house fires, and
like 92% of them are caused bydryer vents.
Because of the the dryer ventsare are are backed up and full
and and it just creates a firehazard.

SPEAKER_02 (01:45):
92%.
Wow.
I've actually I know somebodywho I go to church with and they
had that exact thing happen.
They started a load of clothesin the dryer and left, and their
house burned to the groundbefore they got home.
And it was a new house too.
So what what causes dryer ventsto to become clogged in the

(02:09):
first place?

SPEAKER_01 (02:12):
Well, it's uh it's a combination of things.
It's you know how it's built,you know, how long the line is,
how many curves are in it.
There's a there's a number ofdifferent reasons why what would
cause it to to clog up reallyfast.
You know, how much lint is is inyour clothes when you run them
through the dryer, uh how oftenyou have it done.
There's there's severaldifferent reasons.

SPEAKER_02 (02:36):
Well, I was gonna ask how serious is the fire
risk, but it's pretty serious,right?
I mean it could burn your housedown.

SPEAKER_01 (02:41):
Oh yeah, it can it can.

SPEAKER_02 (02:43):
Well, what are some of the uh the the warning signs
that homeowners should look outfor for that?

SPEAKER_01 (02:53):
Well, when it starts getting you know, when your
dryer vent starts getting full,it's gonna it's gonna take
longer to dry.
It's just not gonna dry like itnormally did, you know.
The newer dryers, they're prettythey're pretty smart.
They'll throw a code and they'llquit if if they don't have
proper airflow.
But the older dryers, you know,they'll just it takes longer to

(03:13):
dry, which creates a lot moreheat, and that's that's where
you get a lot of your firesfrom.

SPEAKER_02 (03:19):
Hmm.
So newer newer dryers will willautomatically shut down if they
sense that the air is notgetting through.

SPEAKER_01 (03:27):
Well, I'm not saying all of them will, but a lot of
people that call us for dryervent cleaning is because their
dryer is throwing a code andit'll shut off because it don't
have proper airflow.

SPEAKER_02 (03:36):
Oh wow.
Wow.
Well, so warning sign to lookfor.
If if if your clothes aren'tdrying as fast as they used to,
you need to you need to get aget a professional out to check
it out.
Speaking of that, how oftenshould dryer vents be
professionally cleaned bysomebody like like you guys?

SPEAKER_01 (03:56):
Well, they recommend twice a year, every six months.

SPEAKER_02 (04:01):
Twice a year.
Now when you when you come outto to clean somebody's dryer
vents, do you go ahead andschedule another visit six
months out, or how do you dothat?

SPEAKER_01 (04:13):
No, we we let them schedule.
That's that's up to them.
It's it's their house.
They they can call us back whenthey feel like they need us.

SPEAKER_02 (04:21):
Well, that is something I did not know twice a
year.
I was thinking annually, buttwice a year.
Very good to know.
Well, what walk us through theprocess, your process for
clearing and inspecting vents.
How does that work?
What that what's what's itentailed in you how you do that?

SPEAKER_01 (04:40):
So we clean it from the outside and the inside.
We'll we'll pull your dryer outand we'll we'll clean it from
the inside, we'll clean the backof your dryer, we'll make sure
the back of the dryer is youknow lint-free, and then we'll
clean the line and then we'llput it all back together.

SPEAKER_02 (04:56):
Now, something I try to do when I every time I use
the dryer, there's a a lintscreen, I guess, that you pull
out and you can clean up.
And sometimes that thing isthick.
I mean, that would I I wouldassume would contribute to that.
Is that like the main cause?

SPEAKER_01 (05:14):
Well, it's got, you know, it's uh if when that gets
full, you know, it it it createsuh less airflow for the dryer.
So, you know, I would recommendcleaning that lint trap every
time you do dry uh do do dolaundry.

SPEAKER_02 (05:26):
And I'm sure if most people are like me, they
probably don't do that.
I do it every time I think aboutit, and I try to think about it
every time I use the dryer, butit you know, I'm not I'm not
real good at remembering that.
So as far as uh preventativesolutions to to keep your your
dryer vent from from uh cloggingup and and potentially causing a
fire, do you have anypreventative solution or

(05:50):
maintenance plans that couldhelp uh prevent that from
happening?

SPEAKER_01 (05:54):
Well, we try to we try to use smooth metal lines.
We I don't like to use the thethe soft lines with the wire in
it because it just createsripples and that's just place
for lint to catch.
So I like to see four-inch hardline running out as straight as
you can make it.

(06:15):
Take all the 90s out that youcan.
Now you're gonna have some 90s,it just it happens, but if you
can get it as straight as youcan get it, it just makes the
dryers just work so much better.

SPEAKER_02 (06:26):
So let me ask you this.
I know I've been in this houseabout five years, but the the
hose on the back of my, or nothose, but the the exhaust on the
back of my dryer is thatcrinkle, like you said, that
crinkle hose or whatever.
Is that is that bad?
If it's because it could likeit's so long it it can't it
can't be possibly be straightbecause there's about eight

(06:48):
inches between the wall and thedryer.

SPEAKER_01 (06:51):
No, and you know, I'm not saying it's bad.
There's some circumstances youjust have to have that because
you know you can't get behindthem to hook it up, so you have
to hook it up with the dryerout, and you just have to slide
it back in.
But you you just have to whenyou slide it in, you have to
make sure that you know it's asstraight as it can be.
Um, and they make some reallycool dryer vents that you can
hook up to try to eliminatethat.

(07:12):
They have good products outtoday to try to eliminate all
the the S curves for just thatcause that you're talking about
right there.
So, you know, if if that is aproblem, there's there's
products to try to help so youknow solve it.

SPEAKER_02 (07:25):
Now, is that something readily available that
you can pick up at Lowe's orHome Depot, or is that something
we need to come to you for?

SPEAKER_01 (07:32):
No, you can pick it up at you can look pick it up at
either store.
Um, yeah, you they they carry aa large section of products.

SPEAKER_02 (07:43):
Huh.
Did not know that.
I need to check that out myself.
Otherwise, I'm gonna be callingyou to my house, which you know,
that'd be all right too.
Well, Tim, thanks for sheddinglight on that.
I learned a lot.
Good advice for our listenersand viewers.
Twice a year.
You need to get your drivervents cleaned out at least twice
a year, or you are riskingburning your house down, not to
scare anybody, but that's that'sa fact, right?

(08:04):
I mean, it could happen.
Yeah, I mean it's it'srecommended twice a year.
All right, very good.
Well, Tim, thanks again.
Appreciate you clearing that up,and we'll catch you next time
for more ways to restore andprotect your home with Premier
Restorations of the Carolinas.

SPEAKER_01 (08:23):
Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 (08:24):
Thanks so much and have a great rest of the week.

SPEAKER_00 (08:31):
Thanks for tuning in to restore with Premier
Restoration of the Carolinas.
If disaster strikes, don'tGoogle, call the pros.
You can reach Tim at888-847-2214.
Or visit us online at PremierRestoration of the
Carolinas.com.
We'll bring the tools, the team,and maybe even the shop back.

(08:54):
Because when things go wrong, wemake it right.