Physically cleaning your dryer vents is recommended as least annually. More often if you have a large family and dry lots of clothes, your dryer vent system has many sharp corners or you frequently dry clothes that have been soiled with flammable materials like lacquer, wood stains, petroleum products or other flammable chemicals. See this post for more information on how to clean dryer vents.

There are essentially two causes of blocked dryer vents, dryer lint and animals. Warm and dry dryer vents provide a very attractive spot for bird to make nests and for mice, other rodents and insects to take residence. There are some simple steps you can take to limit the chances of your dryer vents becoming blocked.

Clothes Dryer Lint Trap Cleaning

In addition to regular dryer vent cleaning, some periodic dryer vent maintenance and preventative measures are also recommended. The most obvious maintenance step is cleaning the dryer lint trap after every load of laundry.

If you use fabric softener it is a good idea to periodically wash the lint trap with soap and hot water using a soft brush. Fabric softener can build up on the lint filter and reduce the air flow through it, especially if you have a very fine lint screen.

Dryer Vent Screens

Dryer vent screens come in a lot of different designs but the main goal of all of them is prevent mice and other rodents and vermin from getting inside your home, to limit the amount of hot or cold air that can enter the dryer vent when the dryer is not running and to prevent water from getting in. Unless you will be checking an exterior dryer vent screen regularly, do not use a small mesh screen. These may seem like a good idea to keep insects out but they can get clogged with lint very easily and require regularly cleaning.

Most exterior dryer vents are on a wall but some homes have a roof vent in which case your options are limited because the primary object is blocking water. There are some animal control roof dryer vents available that work very well.

The most common exterior dryer vent is the standard slanted aluminum hood and flap door. These generally keep water out just fine but they rarely close tightly enough to prevent rodents and insects from getting in and don’t do a very good job of keeping the hot and cold air out or insects..

Another common hooded style is a dryer vent with a plastic grid over the opening and often with a flap door behind the screen. These will prevent birds and most rodents from getting it but mice and other vermin often chew through plastic. These don’t do a great job of keeping air and insects out either.