Dryer Vent Cleaning in Sturgis, SD
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Cold vents trap lint fast in Sturgis
Your dryer pushes out warm, damp air, and in Sturgis that air is moving through a vent sitting in cold. Winter nights average 12°F from December through February, nine months of the year the vent runs cold most of the time. That warm air cools fast against the metal, and the moisture in it settles on the walls of the vent. Lint sticks to a damp surface far more than a dry one, so the buildup happens faster here than it would somewhere warm.
A vent that is losing airflow to lint takes longer to dry a load, and the heat and moisture it should be sending outside start backing up into the vent itself. Over time that buildup is what turns a working vent into a blocked one.
- 12°F
- the average winter night, and cold vents catch damp lint
- 9 months
- September through May, the vent stays cold
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- How often should a dryer vent be cleaned?
- Once a year for most households. If you dry a lot of loads each week, or run the dryer for a large family, it is worth checking more often than that. A vent that stays clear also helps the dryer heat properly through the long stretch of cold months here, since a clogged one makes the dryer work harder to do the same job.
- Can I clean my dryer vent myself?
- You can clean the lint trap and the first few feet of duct behind the dryer yourself. The rest of the run, especially where it bends or passes through a wall to the outside hood, is harder to reach and easy to damage with the wrong tool. A full cleaning reaches the whole length of the vent, not just the parts you can get to by pulling the dryer out.
- What are the signs of a clogged dryer vent?
- Clothes that take more than one cycle to dry, a dryer that feels hot to the touch on top, and a burning smell during the cycle are the clearest signs. You might also notice the outside vent hood flap barely moves when the dryer is running, which means air isn't pushing through like it should. Any of these on their own is worth checking, and a clogged vent that goes unchecked is a fire risk.