Recently, my townhouse complex sent a letter telling us we are now required to have our dryer vents cleaned at least every 3 years. I had mine done about 2.5 years ago, but figured I'd do it while I was thinking about it. I'm only one person so I didn't think there would be much to clean, so it was surprising, to say the least, when my plumber called and said, "Kate, are you taking in laundry?" It seems my vent was so clogged it looked like a family of 6 lived there. Apparently, the vent stretches out about 15' from the dryer, and with rain and humidity the lint clings to the sides of the vent pipe until it's completely clogged. Ah, so that's why my clothes were taking forever to dry.
You may wonder why I'd waste time writing about lint, so I'll tell you. Several years ago, a woman in Franklin Lakes, NJ put clothes in her dryer, turned it on, and went shopping. When she got home, the house had burned to the ground --- with her dog in it. I can't imagine anything more devastating. It appeared the dryer had a short, and the spark started a fire in the duct.
The lesson is this: clean out the duct at least once/year (in 2.5 yrs, I could fill a 25-gal bucket with the lint from mine); and never leave your home with anything running.
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