A clogged dryer vent poses many serious health and safety risks. For instance, studies have revealed that dryers cause over 15,000 fire accidents in America annually. A clogged dryer vent poses several health risks, apart from igniting fires. Therefore, you need to clean your dryer vent routinely to avoid these risks. This article offers you the main health problems caused by a dirty dryer vent.
Health Problems Caused by Dirty Dryer Vents
How often you clean your dryer vent depends on how often you use your dryer. So, if you use your dryer five times a week, you should clean its vent at least twice a year, or more. Even if you don’t use your dryer so often, you should still clean its vent to avoid the following health issues.
Excessive Heat and Humidity
A clogged dryer vent will not only pose a fire risk but will also trap and relocate the excess heat back into your house, making your interiors extremely hot and humid. Your dryer already generates too much heat when drying your laundry. So, you do not need extra heat flowing back into the house. Excess heat will make your home uncomfortable and cause heat exhaustion, heatstroke, cramps, and death. Prolonged exposure to excess heat will also exacerbate preexisting chronic ailments, such as respiratory, cerebral, and cardiovascular diseases.
Musty Odor
If the excess heat generated by your dryer remains trapped in the house, it will result in a musty odor. This will not only cause an unpleasant smell in your house, but it will turn into mold, which poses many serious health risks, especially respiratory complicationsAnyny contact with mold spores will cause severe allergic reactions, such as red eyes, sneezing, runny nose, and skin rash for people who are sensitive to molds. And if you have a serious mold allergy, you may experience more severe reactions like shortness of breath.
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Colorless, odorless, tasteless, and hard to detect, carbon monoxide causes flu-like effects and even death. If your dryer vent is clogged with lint or filled with bird nests and dirt, it will prevent exhaust gasses from exiting the vent line properly. When the vent line is blocked, harmful gases like carbon monoxide will build up inside your house, creating a serious risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. Therefore, hire a professional to check your vent line to ensure it is in good condition. Talk to Dryer Vent Wizard today for more information about cleaning dryer vents.