How much lint actually collects inside your dryer exhaust duct? This is a common question that we are often asked when performing dryer exhaust duct maintenance or dryer vent cleaning, however, it is difficult to give a simple answer that applies to everyone.

The amount of lint that collects inside your clothes dryer vent will depend on several factors, which include how often the dryer is used, what type of clothing is being dried, and the overall length of the dryer exhaust vent.

This picture shows a flexible dryer vent that we removed from a fairly new home, in fact, this dryer vent was only eight months old. Rather than cleaning the flexible part of this exhaust system, the home owner chose to have us replace it with a fire-retardant, aluminum flex pipe. This one could have been easily cleaned with our equipment, but it was way too long for the required installation and we were going shorten it. Alot.

Often times, we see way more flex jammed in behind the dryer than what is actually needed. All you need there is a piece of flex that is long enough to allow you to pull out the dryer. Anything more than that amount just adds to unnecessary air restriction.

Flexible dryer exhaust vents can be easily cleaned by the home owner in most cases. Just remove it completely, then take it outside and shake it out. It can also be cleaned with a garden hose and then re-assembled once it is dry. This procedure alone can often save you from having to clean the entire portion of the dryer duct as often.

If you have a similar plastic vent like this one and notice that it is getting brittle, then it is time to replace it completely.

We recommend that your dryer exhaust duct system be thoroughly cleaned and inspected at least every two years in most homes. We provide this service on its own, but it is always more cost-effective to have this done in conjunction with a complete air duct cleaning in your home.
 

Installing a programmable thermostat in your home or office can save you up to 15% of the energy that you are now using for your HVAC system.

This is one of the most cost-effective energy decisions that you can make for your home, and the cost of doing so is relatively inexpensive. We have found in the past that many people have considered having one installed but never got around to it either because they thought it would be an expensive undertaking, or else they wanted to do it themselves but weren’t really sure how.

A programmable thermostat will automatically set back the temperature in your home at desired times, and will turn down the heat or the cooling to whatever temperature you program in. It’s basically something that you can set and forget, and then your energy savings will add up by themselves.

This is something that most homeowners can do themselves with some simple instruction. The job itself should take no more than an hour. Let’s go over the procedure of the actual installation, but first, I’d like to mention that City Duct does supply and install programmable thermostats, and we can also install your’s for you if you’ve already bought one yourself.

If you would like more information on this service then please contact our office. It is also more cost-effective to have this service done in conjunction with your annual furnace cleaning and inspection, or when we are already in your home doing your air duct cleaning.

For this demonstration, we will be replacing a typical White Rodgers heat/cool thermostat with a Honeywell Pro4000 model. You can use whichever model you choose though, and the installation will still be pretty much the same.

The first thing you should do is to test the operation of the entire HVAC system by first turning the furnace fan on by the switch on the thermostat. Just turn it to ON, and as soon as you know that the fan comes on, then turn it off. Next, check the cooling. Set the temperature to its lowest setting and then select “cool”. You should hear your outdoor unit and your furnace fan come on immediately.

Once you know it can work then change the system switch to the off position and wait for everything to stop. Next, turn the heat all the way up and then using the system switch again, turn it to heat. Once you know that the heat works, then you’ve just tested everything that your current thermostat can do, and you now know that everthing works for sure. You next step is to go downstairs and turn off the furnace power switch.

Most people tend to skip the initial testing procedure because its their home, and they are already confident that everything will work. But when I go into someone’s home to do this job I always like to test it all first. It only takes a few minutes.

Now we will begin by first removing the cover of the old thermostat. That’s the part that has the temperature dial on it. Just pull it off, and inside you will see a secondary plate which should look similar to the picture below. You will need to unscrew the plate to access the thermostat wires and the thermostat mounting screws.

Did you ever realize how much dust can accumulate inside your thermostat?

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