Clogged dryer vents can cause hazards such as fire and carbon monoxide buildup. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, more than 2,900 home fires every year are caused by lint buildup. Those small particles of your clothes actually get past the removable lint filter and get trapped deep inside the dryer vents.
Cleaning your dryer vent won’t only keep your home safe from fire and other hazards. It will also save you dollars on utility bills, enjoy peak performance from your machine, and keep your clothes in tip-top condition. The task may seem daunting, but it gets easy once you have the right cleaning tools.
Check out our checklist below for dryer vent cleaning tools.
Dryer Vent Vacuum
Source: Amazon
Owning a dryer vent vacuum can be very helpful when you have a blockage in your vent. If you want to clear out your dryer vent swiftly, then using the vacuum will allow you to do so. A powerful vacuum is going to be able to suck up all of the lint that is blocking your vent without any issues.
It can also vacuum up any other debris that happens to be clogging up the vent. Really, any type of vacuum that is capable of using attachments will work well for this purpose. As long as you can attach a hose that can fit into your dryer vent, you will be able to use the vacuum to its full potential.
You just need to be able to get it where you need it to go. Even if your vacuum didn’t come with these attachments, it should be possible to attach a hose to most modern vacuum cleaners.
The vacuum being shown here is perfect for cleaning out dryer vents. It has a telescoping wand that works swimmingly for getting into tight spaces. This will be great for sucking up the lint in your dryer vent. It’s easy to use this vacuum and it is quite powerful.
Flexible Crevice Tool
Source: Amazon
This flexible crevice tool is meant to be used in conjunction with a dryer vent vacuum. It will allow you to reach into the vent further and it can angle itself properly to do the job. This tool is flexible so it can curve along with the vent.
Not all vents are going to be completely straight, so it makes sense to have a hose attachment that can curve along with it. You will be able to use your dryer vent vacuum far more effectively when you have this flexible crevice tool to go along with it. It isn’t too expensive to get one of these, so it’s going to be an easy way to get the most out of your vacuum.
Cleaning out your dryer vent will be a lot easier when you have this tool. You can suck up lint without it being too difficult and can remove other debris easily as well. Attaching your flexible crevice tool to the vacuum itself shouldn’t be tough either. Simply ensure that the type of vacuum that you purchased is compatible with this particular flexible crevice tool.
Once all of the details have been worked out, you’ll be able to get to work and finish up your cleaning. It will be easy to clean out your dryer vent and you can feel safer about doing your laundry. This attachment should prove useful for other purposes as well.
You’ll be able to use this attachment to help you get hard to reach areas that your traditional vacuum attachments cannot. It’s a good idea to purchase one of these because it has so much utility. You’ll get a lot of use out of this and the cost is incredibly reasonable.
Dryer Lint Brush
Source: Amazon
This is perhaps the most common dryer vent cleaning tool on the market. Buying a good dryer lint brush is going to make it simple to clean out most lint from your vent. If you have a bit of lint built up in your vent, then you’ll be able to clean it out without too much trouble using this brush.
The brush won’t be quite as useful when there is a severe blockage in the vent, though. It is good to keep one of these dryer lint brushes around to help you maintain your dryer vents. You will be able to clean out your vent semi-regularly with the brush in order to prevent blockages from occurring.
Doing so is going to be the most practical way for you to avoid many of the worst problems that are associated with blocked dryer vents. It definitely does pay to stay on top of your cleaning, so it’s a good thing to keep in mind.
These dryer lint brushes are very cost effective too. You won’t have to pay too much money at all to get a good dryer lint brush. Most of these brushes aren’t incredibly long though, and this can present some problems when you need to clean deeper into the vent.
In this situation, it can be beneficial to purchase a dryer lint brush attachment that can be put on a longer rod. For general dryer vent cleaning purposes, this dryer lint brush is going to be what you need. You can purchase one without having to break the bank and it will work effectively.
Once you have one of these tools, you will be able to work to ensure that your vent stays clean. Check on your vent now and again to remove the lint that is building up for the best results.
Nylon Brush Rod
Source: Amazon
You will absolutely need one of these nylon brush rods when you’re trying to clean out your dryer vent. It’s important to be able to reach as deep inside of the vent as you can. These nylon brush rods are easy to handle and are also fairly long.
You’ll be able to fit them into the dryer vent and work them through in order to eliminate whatever is blocking your vent. You can also attach things to these nylon brush rods. For example, many different types of brushes can be attached to the ends of these rods.
This makes cleaning the vent a lot simpler and gives you some versatility in how you go about things. You’ll be able to clean the dryer vent very well when you have these rods to use. There are other types of tools that can be attached to the ends of a nylon brush rod as well.
These will prove to be useful in certain situations. The thing to remember is that a nylon brush rod is going to be one of the basic things that you need to effectively clean out your dryer vents. It is an essential tool for the process, so you will not want to be without one of these.
The flexible nylon rods being shown here are about two feet long and can be connected together to increase the length. These will work just fine for cleaning out most dryer vents. It will be possible to find individual rods that are a bit longer, so if you need increased length it will be worth continuing to look for other options.
These are good multipurpose rods that should prove to be very good at helping you finish this task.
Powerful Air Compressor
Source: Home Depot
Using a powerful air compressor can be a smart way to get rid of lint and blockage in your dryer vent. Attaching a hose to an air compressor such as this, will allow you to blow out air at a high speed. You can push out the materials that are blocking your dryer vent and then go about your day.
This works really well overall, but whether or not this is going to be a practical solution is up to you to decide. You will need to have a proper hose attachment in order to be able to use this air compressor effectively. As long as you have the hose, it won’t be difficult to use this to clean out your dryer vent.
When you have ample amounts of blockage, using powerful bursts of air to break things up is one of the easiest things that you can do. Buying an air compressor for just this purpose might seem like a bit much, though.
Air compressors aren’t prohibitively expensive, but they aren’t as cost effective as purchasing a dryer lint brush either. If you can get away with cleaning out your dryer vents with just a lint brush, then you would be better off going that route. It really just depends on how much money you are comfortable spending.
If you already own an air compressor, then you should definitely consider making use of it to quickly remedy your dryer vent blockage problems. Pretty much any type of air compressor will work fine for these purposes. The more powerful the air compressor is, the easier it will be to dislodge the blockage.
You may need to use a dryer lint brush or a flexible nylon rod in conjunction with your air compressor to get the best results. Some people will also prefer using the dryer vent vacuum for this purpose, so take some time to consider your options before moving forward.
Nest Removal Tool
Source: Amazon
Depending on the positioning of your dryer vent, you may wind up having problems with other types of debris blocking it up. When this problem occurs, it can be somewhat troublesome to figure out how to deal with it. You may even find that birds have created a nest in your dryer vent.
They were likely drawn to the warmth of the vent and you want to be able to get rid of them as quickly as possible. In order to effectively remove a nest from your dryer vent, you’re going to need the right tool for the job. You can purchase a nest removal tool that will help you to get rid of all of the nesting materials that are stuck in the vent.
This particular tool can be attached to one of your brush rods and will be very good at attaching to the nest and removing it. You won’t have a difficult time getting a nest out, so long as you have one of these.
This tool has to be used in conjunction with a brush rod, though. One of the nylon rods that you have purchased should work just fine to help you get rid of the nest. Once everything has been attached properly, you just need to position yourself and force the rod through the vent.
Use the nest removal tool that is attached at the tip to get rid of the nest and your job will be done. If you notice a birds nest in your dryer vent, then you need to take care of it right away. Do not use your dryer until you have taken care of this problem.
The nest creates a fire hazard and you need to avoid potentially dangerous consequences. Taking care of the nest shouldn’t be too big of a challenge, so you’ll be able to get back to finishing your laundry soon enough.
Power Drill
You might be wondering why a power drill would be included in a list of dryer vent cleaning tools. While a power drill certainly isn’t something you will use by itself to clean out a dryer vent, it is something that can be useful to the process. When you have a powerful and capable power drill, you will be able to attach things to it using certain drill bits.
Buying the right drill bit, or having the right drill bit included with your power drill, is going to allow you to attach duct brushes to your unit. This can help you to clean out your dryer vent in a much easier way. Using the power of the drill will make everything go a lot easier by being able to forcibly push through the blockage.
It can be a lot quicker to do this than it would be to try to force through the blockage with a lint brush or rod by hand. You may already own a power drill for other reasons, so it’s possible that you won’t need to purchase one of these. If you are in the market for a good power drill, then you should definitely get one that will be useful for multiple purposes.
A power drill is a tool that is going to make doing things around the house a lot simpler. Whether you are drilling holes in something or driving screws into an object, you’ll find your power drill to be very handy. This power drill being shown here is a very cost-effective model that will be perfect for you.
It can be used to do other tasks around your home and will work well for dryer vent cleaning with the proper attachments. Owning the right tools can potentially make any job simpler. Make sure that you have a good power drill around and you will make short work of your dryer vent blockage problem.
Drill Attachment Duct Brushes
Source: Home Depot
These duct brushes are going to be really simple to use, as long as you have one of the power drills that is mentioned above. You can attach these duct brushes directly to a drill attachment. Your drill may or may not have the proper attachment that you need to do this.
If it does, then you’ll be ready to clean out your dryer vent expediently with these brushes. Once the brushes are attached to the drill itself, you can operate the drill like you normally would. You squeeze the trigger and the brushes will spin, making short work of any lint that has built up in your dryer vent.
The brushes will be able to pull out the lint and you’ll be clear of any blockage before long. Having these duct brushes that can be used with your power drill is going to prove useful when you have a significant blockage that needs to be worked through. When the blockage in your dryer vent is particularly high, it can be difficult to push through it with a manually powered lint brush.
Even using a flexible crevice tool may sometimes feel like a chore when you aren’t having a lot of luck pushing it through the blockage. The power drill will be able to use its might to work through the blockage and remove the lint. This is one of the best solutions for when you have a severe dryer vent blockage problem.
Many people already own power drills for other practical reasons. Purchasing these drill attachment duct brushes won’t cost you too much money and it will work very effectively. It is a solution that is worth considering when you want this process to go quickly.
Dryer Vent Cleaning Kit
Source: Wayfair
You can choose to purchase a dryer vent cleaning kit to get access to multiple dryer vent cleaning tools at once. This can actually be a very affordable way to get a lot of the items that you will need to clean out the dryer vent. When you don’t have any dryer vent cleaning tools of your own, it is very sensible to seek out a convenient kit that you can purchase.
You will gain access to several tools and should be able to effectively clean out your dryer vent with just the items in the kit. Most of these dryer vent cleaning kits come with dryer lint brushes and crevice tools that you can use to push through blockages. You will be able to remove the lint that has built up effectively enough when using these tools.
Most dryers will not have extreme blockages, so you should be fine with just the tools that are included in the kit. If your problem is a bit more pronounced, then you may be better off purchasing some of the more advanced tools.
The kit being shown off here includes brushes and locking nylon rods so that you can push through the blockage. These will be simple to use and you won’t have to mess with anything complicated while you’re cleaning out the vents. The different brushes that are included will work well for different purposes.
You can choose which one is going to be right for cleaning out your vent initially. If your blockage problem is more severe, then you will likely want to go ahead and purchase a powerful air compressor or a dryer vent vacuum. Regardless, you will be able to make use of this kit to properly maintain your dryer vent.
You can periodically use this kit to remove any lint that has built up in the vent. It will help to keep you safe and your dryer will operate as efficiently as possible.
Dryer Safety Alarm
Source: Amazon
One of the main reasons that you are going to such lengths to clean out your dryer vent is to keep yourself safe. If you ignore the lint that is building up in your dryer for a very long period of time, then it can wind up being quite hazardous. It could potentially lead to a dryer fire down the line and this could put your family in danger.
This can all be avoided by cleaning things up properly and ensuring that things are as safe as they can be. The problem is that you cannot prevent lint from continuing to build up in your dryer vent. If you want to be able to tell when issues are starting to occur in your dryer vent, then you will need access to something that can tell you what is going on.
This is why the dryer safety alarm was invented and it has helped many people to do a better job at maintaining their dryer vents. This convenient alarm will alert you when there is too much lint built up in your dryer vent. This alarm is really simple to install, so you won’t need a professional to come in to show you how to use it.
It simply plugs into the electrical outlet near your dryer unit. There is a little tube that comes off of the alarm and connects to your dryer vent itself. It is then able to detect what is going on so that it can give you an indication when there are problems present. It’s a very simple system that works effectively to keep you safe from harm.
If you want to avoid mishaps with your dryer, then getting one of these cost-effective alarms is an excellent idea. It will allow you to stay safe and you will know exactly when you need to take action. You will know as soon as a blockage has occurred in your dryer vent, so you’ll always be able to fix things right away.
