How Colder Weather Affects Your Dryer Vent

Winter weather can be unpredictable here in the Hoosier State. One week, temperatures hover in the mid-30s to low 40s. The following week, they’ll drop into the subzero range only to shoot above 50 degrees a few days later. This constant fluctuation can cause problems with many of your home’s fixtures and appliances, including your washer and dryer. Let’s take a closer look at the latter situation: how colder weather affects your dryer vent.

How does your dryer work?

First, before we discuss how colder weather affects your dryer vent, it’s important to understand how this appliance works. Your dryer utilizes air, both forced heat and through the act of “tumbling” your clothes. In turn, that heated air needs to go somewhere, or else your dryer would overheat.

The solution is with a dryer vent. This allows the heated air to vacate the appliance. However, colder weather affects your dryer vent as the outside temperatures drop.

Affect #1: Condensation

The most obvious visual way that colder weather affects your dryer vent is via condensation. As warmed air meets colder temperatures, it condenses. This increased moisture can sometimes look like you had a mini rainstorm over your vent. In addition, with excessively colder temperatures, you may even see ice formations where the condensed air eventually freezes. You’ll see a similar effect near your HVAC vent as well.

Affect #2: Increased Lint

The second way colder weather affects your dryer vent is with increased lint. To be clear, we’re not stating that colder weather produces more lint. Rather, we typically wear more clothes — and heavier ones, such as sweaters and hoodies — during the winter months. These larger items have more surface area, which means that they spend more time in your dryer. Subsequently, your dryer will collect more lint, which can cause problems with the venting of the air within your dryer.

Affect #3: Lost Clothing and Personal Items

Our Chimney Solutions team members have “found” a wide variety of clothing lodged inside a dryer vent during vent cleanings. This ranges from smaller items such as socks to personal items such as keys and Lego bricks.

So how does colder weather factor in? Simply put, as mentioned we tend to wear more clothing during colder weather. This affects your dryer vent simply via increased usage, and therefore a higher chance of items going missing.

Is it time for an inspection?

What are some of the reasons to schedule a dryer vent inspection and cleaning? Besides the three primary effects we listed above — condensation, increased lint, and lost clothing causing problems — there are several significant benefits to scheduling a dryer vent inspection.

The first is increased efficiency for your appliance. The second is that regular inspections can extend the life of your dryer. And finally, all of the above effects boil down to a single word: safety. Routine inspections help keep your home safe from potential problems.

Would you like to schedule an inspection? Then let us know. Contact Chimney Solutions, LLC via phone at (317) 757-6979 or send us a request for an appointment via our contact form.