Recently, my dryer seemed to take forever to dry regular clothes, let alone the heavy items like towels and blankets. After doing some quick googling, I decided to pull it away from the wall to determine if the was stuck, misshapen, or something else. 

Sometimes vents can become bent, especially if one tries to clean up split dog treats, causing a lint blockage leading to the outer vent. I found that there was no bent hosing, but that there was a build up of fluff behind the dryer, along with some wet spots on the floor. 

Googled some more, and decided to investigate the hosing to see if it was internally blocked.. and surprise, suprise.. 

I do keep the front lint trap free and clear, as much as possible, but often forget about the other parts of the dryer that need periodic love. In fact, my lint trap doesn't always capture everything, and I find myself periodically digging with a dust buster to get some fluff out of the front frame when I see build-up!

Certain dryers have a O rings with screw & bolts that one can undo to find all the fluff, while others would need a full-on professional to access parts. Most have fairly easy accessible back vents, where the hosing connects from the dryer to the wall, though. 

Yes, it's a pain in the butt, especially in tight laundry room spaces. Pulling the dryer out means there is little room to maneuver around due to the door frame and water tank; but it's something I managed to do without too much drama. 

After figuring out how to unscrew the vent, I found a whole world of gray fluff that needed to be removed! However, I am saving the wall vent for the professionals, because there are some perks to apartment living! I'm pretty sure for insurance purposes, that professional peeks come through checking the vents once a year, but I am going to check on that soon!

Just cleaning out that bit has significantly improved my dryer's timing, though. 

Did you know that we really should be cleaning out our dryer vents at least once a year? It's really recommended every 6 months if you have pets and a larger family. Cleaning out the vents and under the dryer prevents buildup that can lead to fires, mechanical issues, and higher energy bills (the longer it takes to dry, the more energy spent, the higher your electric bill!).

And yes, not cleaning dryer vents properly can lead to damage. Blockages can create moisture/ condensation buildups that eventually ruin the gaskets and belts.

The dryer itself is a pretty simple task. Depending on where your wall vent's output is located, calling a professional might be safer than say.. trying to get on the roof! For most, it should be near the ground and pretty easy to blow a shop vac hose through.

While we may ignore the tornado that often hits our homes (yes, even in single life, I have tornados on very busy weeks too), there are some things we shouldn't ignore too long! Also- none of us have time to deal with mechanical issues if it was preventable!

So, here's your reminder, clean out your dryer vents!