How to Clean Dryer Vent From Outside (7 Easy Steps)

 
A blue plastic basket of white and grey laundry
 

If you’ve ever wondered about how to clean dryer vent from outside, check out our simple guide!

How to clean dryer vent from outside: what is a dryer vent?

Your dryer uses motion and warm air to extract the moisture out of your laundry, and it needs a way to get rid of all of the damp air. Your dryer vent is a duct that connects from the dryer itself into the wall. It carries the warm air to be released outside.

If you’ve ever wondered why you can smell your fabric softener outside, this is why. The dryer vent is doing its job! There is an external vent somewhere on the outside of your house - usually it is low down on the wall, but some homes have their external dryer vent on the roof. If your dryer vent is one the roof, we don’t recommend that you learn how to clean dryer vent from outside. Either hire a professional, or clean your dryer vent from the inside.

Why you should learn how to clean dryer vent from outside

You’re probably familiar with the lint that collects in your lint trap - but that’s not the only place that it ends up. The air that cycles through your dryer to dry your laundry also becomes laden with lint, and this is carried through the dryer vent and collects there.

Over time, if you don’t learn how to clean dryer vent from outside, this buildup becomes inefficient and, eventually, dangerous. When it starts to obstruct airflow, you’ll find that your dryer will take longer to dry your laundry. Ultimately, a blocked dryer vent can lead to a dangerous fire.

 
A home after a fire: the windows are blackened, and a firefighter is walking outside of it.
 

That’s why you should be cleaning your dryer vent regularly. How often? This varies depending on how much laundry you are doing, but in general, it is a safe rule to clean your dryer vent every three months.

How to clean dryer vent from outside: what you’ll need

Ideally, you will use a shop-vac and a dryer vent cleaning kit to make sure that the vent is thoroughly clean. You can pick up dryer vent cleaning kits for very reasonable prices: the stiff bristles dislodge dust and lint, while the long, bendy tubing allows you to thread the brush all the way along the ductwork. They are designed to be used with a drill, but you can use them without one for a less thorough but still effective cleaning.

Tools for how to clean dryer vent from outside:

  • Screwdriver

  • Cleaning cloths and wipes

  • Dryer vent cleaning kit (a stiff-bristled brush on a long bendy stick)

  • Vacuum cleaner

Optional tools for how to clean dryer vent from outside:

  • Shop-vac

  • Drill

How to clean dryer vent from outside

Follow these easy steps to learn how to clean your dryer vent from outside!

#1 - Locate the outer vent

First, you need to find the vent you’ll be cleaning. If you turn your dryer on and then walk around the outside of your home or building, it will make it easier to identify the vent. You should hear and feel the hot air coming from the vent, hear the machine, and maybe even smell the scent of your detergent on the air.

#2 - Unplug your dryer

You don’t want to be dealing with air blowing into your face while you’re cleaning, and you want to mess with electrical components even less. That’s why the first step in how to clean your dryer vent from outside is to unplug your machine. If you have a gas dryer, close off the gas valve into the dryer while you’re working.

#3 - Unscrew the outer vent grille and cover

Use your screwdriver to unscrew the grille, allowing you to access the inside of the vent.

#4 - Use the brush to clean the inside

Now it’s time to feed the brush up into the vent, which is the main part of how to clean your dryer vent from outside. If you are using a shop-vac and drill, this will be much simpler and cleaner: Your kit will come with an attachment kit to fit the mouth of the vent. These are designed to be used on the indoor side of the dryer vent, so it may not fit your vent, but if it does you definitely want to use it.

Put the tube of the shop vac into the vent and turn it on. Attach the drill bit to the end of the brush, making sure the drill is set to run clockwise, then begin to feed the brush slowly into the vent.

If you’re not using the drill, you will want to use vigorous scrubbing hand motions to work the brush against the inside of the vent and dislodge the coating of dust and lint.

#5 - Use the vacuum to collect the lint

When you pull the brush out, it’s likely going to come with a shower of lint and dust, especially if you haven’t used a shop-vac. This is one reason to learn how to clean dryer vents from outside - there’s less clean-up than there would be in your laundry room. Use the vacuum to clean up the dirt.

#6 - Wash the vent cover

Use the wipes, or, if the grime is stubborn, soap and water to clean the vent cover and unblock anything that’s gotten stuck in the grille.

#7 - Screw the vent cover back on

At this point, you’re almost done. Put the vent cover back on and replace the screws!

 
A black and white photo of a laundry machine full of clothes
 

Learning how to clean dryer vent from outside

There you have it: your simple guide to how to clean dryer vent from outside. It’s not too hard, and it’s going to make a big difference in the long run for the safety and efficiency of your dryer. Figuring out how to clean dryer vent from outside is an often-overlooked aspect of household maintenance, but it is crucial to reducing the risk of fires in your home.

If you’d like more advice on how to handle this, or if you’d prefer to turn this tak over to professionals with the strongest shop vacs out there - get in touch!