Dryer Vent Cleaning: Water in the Vent Line

I met an Owner at one of his true properties the other day who'd a major water issue with his dryer vent line. After meeting the Owner, he took me to his basement and exposed a closet. There clearly was a flexible dryer hose hanging right in front of my face in a huge U formation. The Owner said, "I think there's water in here." Obviously, this is why his Tenants were having trouble drying their clothes.

I grabbed the hose, jostled it back and forth, and the sound of water made a whooshing sound, it felt like there clearly was two gallons of water in the vent line. The weight of such a large amount of water caused the duct line to sag to some feet above the floor. Fortunately, the hose didn't yet break and cause water damage around his builders cleaning

I believed to the Homeowner, "The builder should have been very lazy while he should never of installed this sort of flexible dryer vent line in the walls. He should have installed the rigid metal kind of dryer duct." Unfortunately, builders sometimes install the flexible foil type of duct line in walls, and have already been even recognized to sometimes exit the dryer duct into attics that is very hazardous.

Each time a flexible vent is installed as opposed to the rigid metal type, if you have only a little water condensation from drying clothes, this water can build up and start to sag the vent line. And once the duct line sags, it really collects more and more water. Unfortunately, the water will eventually totally clog the vent line when it sags, and totally block the airflow. If you find an airflow blockage as a result of water buildup, it can seriously damage a dryer and make even a strong new dryer worthless.

Sometimes, the water also can come from the surface when the surface cover isn't sealed properly and rainwater pours to the dryer duct. The straightforward solution for this is to seal the exterior vent cover with clear caulk or to put in a brand new cover. The surface vent cover because of this homeowner was under a overhang where rain wouldn't reach it, and so the water was definitely originating from his clothes. Usually, water condensation in the duct line isn't an issue, but because he'd a flexible hose in the wall, the slightest quantity of water caused it to sag and trap more and more water.

I grabbed a sizable plastic bucket, placed it under the sagging vent line, took out a pen, and popped it with a hole. It almost felt like a surgical procedure. The water gushed from the duct line and into the bucket along side a combination of lint. After every one of the water drained, I simply taped up the hose with vent tape.

After fixing the water problem, I went about my normal cleaning procedure and brushed out the vent line from the inside, placed my blower in the vent line, and proceeded to brush it from the outside. More line blew out, and the airflow finally resumed in the vent line and was blowing out strong.

Arie Van Tuijl is an employee of Green Air Ducts, an organization located in McLean, VA and Rockville, MD that services the D.C. metro area and specializes in dryer vent cleaning and air duct cleaning. Green Air Ducts only uses eco-friendly cleaning products. Discover how faster you can dry your clothes and prevent a dryer fire. Just head to [http://www.greenairducts.net] to see testimonials and to acquire a free phone estimate.