By MyPros Staff

If you are having problems with your dryer taking longer and longer to dry clothes, have a professional come by for dryer repair.  Orange County homes, like many new homes across the country, increasingly have dryer vents that are longer and longer, which can cause all kinds of problems with dryer function.  

A critical cause of dryer fires is failure to have the vent cleaned on a regular basis.  Not the lint trap; the vent, where the warm, moist air is vented to the outside.  Most people don't even think about it, but this air duct can build up quite a bit of lint over time, and when you run the dryer, it can get quite hot.  One way to avoid any problems with this is to have it professionally checked or cleaned at least once a year or so.  And it probably goes without saying, make sure your dryer has a vent with sheet metal tubing, not plastic or foil.

Another thing to watch out for is to make sure that your dryer vent is not more than 15 feet long.  When the vent tubing is too long, it can become difficult for the dryer to push the air out, and the vent becomes blocked with lint or other debris.  Now the heat has nowhere to go—so it builds up inside your dryer, raising the temperature from the normal 165 degrees to 300 degrees or higher.  Not a good scenario when the lint can catch fire as low as 200 degrees under certain circumstances.  

If you think either one of the above situations might describe you, your best bet is to check with a serviceman for dryer repair.  Orange County service companies will be happy to offer advice and safety tips to get your dryer working in top condition again.