Simple Trick to Clean Out a Clogged Dryer Vent or Duct Work.

Learn a simple trick to cleaning out a clogged dryer vent using a leaf blower.

1. I should have put this in here when I first made/posted the video, but first of all, credit needs to go to my super smart brother-in-law Jeremy for coming up with this idea. I took his idea and made it into a video, and as of today's date, 10/28/23, about 1.1 million people have viewed it and hopefully been helped by it!! This "trick" is not meant to be used in place of professional dryer duct cleaning but in addition to. Just prior to moving in to this house, our dryer duct had been professionally cleaned, but obviously still had a bunch of lint clogging up the duct work, which was causing our dryer to not operate properly. The leaf blower "trick" finished the job the professional failed to do thoroughly the first time.
2. I do not recommend going out to buy a leaf blower for this "trick" if you do not already own one. I already own 2, so this was still cheaper for me than replacing the existing duct work.

[gregorymallek]

I'm so glad that you masked up to protect yourself from all that dust that was blowing into your young daughter's unmasked face, good job.

[pb]

You're wearing a dust mask, but your daughter is unprotected standing right next to you. Brilliant.

[lydiamiller]

I had a professional service come to clean my duct. I was still having issues with the dryer drying after they were done. I got a long brush you can attach to a drill, but couldn’t get it past about 6 feet. And with the sharp turns it took I didn’t try with the drill. I was completely frustrated and didn’t know what to do. I watched this video and was so excited. I did have to create an adapter since our leaf blower has a closer to rectangular opening. So I used a large cottage cheese or yogurt container that actually fit the dryer duct perfectly. I blew out about a gallons worth of lint. And now I can dry my clothes. Thank you so much!!!

[jeaninezercher]

Oh my Gosh...so hilarious. He puts on safety glasses and a mask to keep himself safe, but watch his toddler daughter walking all around with absolutely no safety measures.

[MamaJLW]

After the first blow out, I thought it was a pretty clean duct. Clearly I was wrong. What an amazing hack.

[jimnunya]

This vid could actually be saving lives from house fires caused by blocked dryer venting!
You get a super hi-5 from me sir! (Pass it on to Kelsey too!)

[AngryCalls]

I’m throughly enjoying the amount of KARENS chiming in about the “lack of safety” you had for your cute little daughter/helper. These neurotic people must be such a joy to live with… 😝😝😝

[ebola]

Lol…I thought I invented this… I did this to our dryer duct about 10 years ago and have been doing this annually to insure dryer efficiency. Keep up the good work!

[gerald]

Replace the transition duct that is made with foil as seen in the video with a semi-rigid transition duct. For the DIY person, use a rotating duct cleaning tool in combination with a wet-dry vac. This works really well. The homeowner's dryer should be opened and cleaned of accumulated lint as well. I am sure that there is a massive amount based on the condition of the exhaust duct.

[eldergeektromeo]

Well, your assistant is the absolute cutest! Well Done team!!

[grandparolie]

Because your precious daughter was with you I wish I could give it 1000 thumbs up. 💯🙏🏼❤️😊

[JamesRichardWiley]

I've been cleaning out these vents for 25 years with a dryer vent kit with extendable brushes from Amazon using the air pressure from the dryer running on air dry or no heat.
I had to trim one brush to half its diameter to avoid compacting the lint and then using a full sized brush to remove the remnants. The secret to success is to move forward a little at a time and then pull back to allow the lint to escape. If you go in too fast you can create a blockage and be forced to call a professional. Some vents are too long to be cleaned manually.
Warning: if you rotate the rods counter clockwise and unscrew them you will leave the brush stuck inside the vent.

[TheGregWallace]

Another excellent video to show why a dryer should be located on an exterior wall so your exit vent pipe is only about as long as the wall is thick.

[wxfield]

Speaking only as someone that owns rental properties and several laundromats..the ducting is not commonly where a fire starts. It is where the fire can spread, however. The most overlooked and under-cleaned location for dryer lint is the ducting path from the lint screen to the exit behind the dryer. How many times have you undone the front panel of your dryer and cleaned out that pathway..which happens to be the pathway just inches from the dryer's heat source? In our laundromats, we clean the dryer's out based on how many hours they run. In our rental properties, we clean 1x yearly. Usually in the Fall.

[f.k.burnham]

If you had that much lint in the ductwork, you really need to pull the back off the dryer and clean out the heating element area and the air paths in the internal ductwork. It is quite possible you will find a big wad of burned or charred lint in the heating element area.
It is common to have a dryer catch fire and possibly burn your house down.

My dryer is one that was my mothers and it failed to heat. I pulled the back off and found the element open and when I took the cover off the heating element it had a big wad of charred lint in it. Also a lot of lint in the internal ductwork, and $.37 in change in the dryer plus hardware that had been in pockets.
The dryer had not been cleaned in at least 35 years, since before my folks died. I also replaced the belt while I was at it, as the belt was about 40+ years old when it broke.
I use a 1' ft. section of corrugated metal flex tubing, as the dryer vent to outside is offset just about 6". My dryer backs right onto the vent pipe to the outside.
I also regularly clean the little "flaps' on the outside of the vent pipe that keep the rain and such out. They seem to attract damp lint. They are also flexible enough that I can gently bend them & remove them to check inside the pipe for any buildup.
I can reach my hand up in there & easily clean any lint stuck in the pipe out too.

TIP : When you replace a belt, heating element, pully, etc, write on the back of the dryer cover in felt pen the part number & make of the part you had to replace. Saves a lot of time and hassle when you need you need to repair it again!

[larry]

Thanks for the tip! I have a similar Makita blower and used it to blow mine out. I have 3 90 degree bends in mine (thanks Mr. Builder) and my cleaning kit cannot navigate the corners. The last duct cleaner who came out had trouble too! This did blow a massive amount of crud about 10 feet out and onto my lawn. Ducts are perfectly clean now and air flows stronger than ever!

[olderendirt]

Your supervisors are adorable. I always clean my filter after each load, but will check the outside vent. My dryer is over 30 years old and the ductwork has been replaced, but it's been a long time and could probably use a good cleaning. Thanks for the great tips.

[michellekuehner]

Thanks for the tutorial. I wanted to tackle this project, but was not sure how in-depth it would be. After watching, it looked pretty straight forward. I ended up ordering a 60 foot flexible dryer vent cleaning tool that connects to a drill, along with your blower suggestion, and all is good. I was surprised at how little time it took to complete. Your daughter looks like a great helper.

[danrussell]

It is really cool that you were wearing a mask yet let your young daughter stand and breathe in everything your pulling out . Good Job!

[keithrn]

What an adorable little girl! A great little helper !