Dryer Letting Out a Lot of Hot Air

Issues

• When your dryer lets out a lot of hot air, it heats up your laundry area. This makes working in the room or cubby unpleasant. The elevated humidity and heat can increase the risk of mold growth in the area. Your clothing will be exposed to more heat while the appliance runs, putting in danger of damage or shrinking. The increased amount of hot air can also be blown back through the ductwork leading to your dryer vent. If lint has built up inside the ductwork, the higher temperature air can cause it to overheat, putting your home at greater risk for fire.

Causes

• A clog in your dryer’s ductwork causes it to let out more hot air than normal. The usual culprit is lint that has drifted back into the ducting and become stuck. It restricts the amount of air that flows through the ductwork so the dryer doesn’t vent as well. This causes the dryer to work harder to get rid of moisture in wet clothes, so it heats up more and puts out more hot air to compensate.

Solutions

• Removing the clog from the ductwork will let your dryer vent properly, cutting down on the amount of hot air it releases. To get rid of the extra lint, stick the wand of a wet/dry vac into the opening of the ductwork behind your dryer. Turn it on and let it run for five minutes. The suction pulls built-up lint out of the ductwork running through your walls. If you only remove a small amount of lint with the vac, contact a professional to remove the clog. Your ductwork could be twisted or kinked, trapping the lint. In that case, the ducting needs to be replaced.

Considerations

• You can prevent lint from clogging up your ductwork by removing the lint from the dryer’s trap every time you use the unit. This reduces the amount of lint that makes its way into the ducting. Ductwork should be made of aluminum or galvanized steel -- not only are these materials more resistant to overheating than plastic, they are also less likely to trap lint. Ideally, ducting should travel in a straight line to the vent on the exterior of your home and it shouldn’t be any longer than 25 feet.