If your laundry is taking forever to dry, there may be a preventable reason why. An expert is sharing that the lint trap is more important than one may think.
Lint Away Duct Cleaning (@lintawayductcleaning) posts “oddly satisfying” videos of him cleaning clients’ dryer vents. In one of his latest videos, he opens his client’s dryer and zooms in to focus on the lint trap.
“So, you’re telling me you never clean this?” he asks the owner of the appliance as he pulls the lint trap out from inside of the dryer.
“I didn’t know this was a thing,” she responds.
The customer has a front-load stackable washer and dryer. And the lint trap is in the back of the inside of the dryer.
It appears to be overfilled with gray lint.
“That’s linty,” @lintawayductcleaning says, shocked.
“How long was it taking your clothes to dry?” he asks.
After a heartbeat of silence, the client replies, “Three hours.”
The business owner pops off the vent cover to uncover a thick layer of lint. “That’s insane,” he says, cleaning the lint out.
The content creator returns his attention back to the inside of the dryer, where he cleans excess lint from around the trap.
“My goodness,” he says out of surprise, adding more lint to the lint pile.
Then, @lintawayductcleaning returns the clean vent back to its now-clean spot and gives the camera a thumbs up.
Apparently, this was the first time the lint trip had been cleaned. “It was taking THREE HOURS to Dry Clothes! The Lint Trap had NEVER been Cleaned,” he captioned the video.
The Daily Dot reached out to @lintawayductcleaning via TikTok comment and direct message.
Viewers raced to their dryers
His video amassed 2.2 million views. And viewers weren’t surprised the woman had never cleaned it before. Most lint traps are located in an obvious place, like on the outside of the dryer.
“What a horrible place to put the lint trap,” one user remarked.
“Never seen a lint trap in the back of the dryer. They are usually much more accessible,” another agreed.
Depending on the type of dryer you have, traps may be located on top of the dryer, inside of it, or inside the door. The video also instilled fear in people, who are flocking to their dryers to check for a hidden lint trap.
“Excuse me, I have to go check my dryer,” one viewer wrote.
“Marches off to the dryer,” a second echoed.
A third said, “Her lint is SOLID. That’s insane. She’s lucky it didn’t start a fire.”
Can it cause a fire?
Not only can not removing the lint lead to inefficiency, but it can also create a fire. Because lint is flammable, the heat from the dryer can start a fire. According to ABC, dryers have started over 15,000 house fires, with most starting due to uncleaned lint traps.
How often should you clean a lint trap?
You should aim to clean your lint trap after each load of laundry. In addition, lint traps need a deep clean every six months to prevent buildup.
“Lint screens can be cleaned by hand after each load, but for a deep clean, we recommend a nylon brush, hot water and liquid detergent,” Whirlpool’s senior brand manager Nelly Martinez told TODAY.
@lintawayductcleaning It was taking THREE HOURS to Dry Clothes! The Lint Trap had NEVER been Cleaned 😱🔥
♬ original sound – Lint Away Duct Cleaning
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