How to Clean a Dryer Vent — Step-by-Step Instructions
This is fire-prevention maintenance — lint fires cause thousands of house fires a year. If your vent exits through the roof, seriously consider a pro instead of a ladder.
Tools
- Dryer vent brush kit (flexible rods, drill-driven)
- Drill
- Shop vac
- Screwdriver for clamps
Parts
- Optional: replace foil/plastic flex duct with semi-rigid metal while you’re back there
Step by step
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1 Pull the dryer and disconnect the duct
Unplug (and shut the gas valve on gas models), pull the dryer forward, and loosen the clamp holding the transition duct.
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2 Vacuum both ends
Shop-vac the dryer’s exhaust port and the wall duct opening — you’ll usually pull out a startling first harvest.
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3 Run the brush through the duct
Feed the drill-driven brush from the inside opening toward the outside, adding rods as you go, spinning CLOCKWISE only (rods unscrew in reverse). Work it back and forth the full run.
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4 Clear the exterior hood
Outside, pop the flap or hood cover and pull the lint plug that always collects there; make sure the flap swings freely.
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5 Upgrade the transition duct if it’s foil
Crushable foil and plastic ducts are lint traps (and against code many places) — swap for semi-rigid aluminum, clamped, with the shortest path and fewest bends you can manage.
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6 Reconnect and verify
Run the dryer and feel the outside flow: strong, warm, and steady means you did it right. Note today’s date — repeat yearly.
Roof terminations, duct runs over ~15 feet with multiple elbows, or in-wall crush damage are where the $150 professional cleaning with a rotary rig earns its price. If you'd rather skip it entirely, find a dryer repair pro near you →
Sources
Where the safety, regulatory and warranty claims on this page come from. Repair costs are our own figures based on Arizona market rates and OEM parts pricing.
- Home Fires Involving Clothes Dryers and Washing Machines National Fire Protection Association Dryer fire incidence, and failure to clean as the leading contributing factor.
- Carbon Monoxide Safety Guide U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Carbon monoxide risk from gas cooking and heating appliances.
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