cleaningdryervent
I called a handyman for cleaning my dryer vent under my house slab. It is a glass pipe vent. He cleaned it up using water from the laundry room hose.
Is this an okay way to clean up the lint? I also had my lint eater fiber rod and brush stuck inside the drier vent but none of them came out with cleaning using the water.
Does this handyman really know how to clean the dryer vent?
I cannot say I'm a fan of the design of that vent - although looking at your other question, I'm rather surprised that lint is falling down into that gap. Possibly your fan is creating too much pressure, and it's backing up inside the vent at the 180 and thus air is escaping through the pushing some lint down into that gap, where it can get stuck.
If that's the case, then you might try installing a baffle inside the vent to force lint up far enough in the vent so that it has to go out the intended port, but which still allows water out. Like so...
Sorry, the color doesn't show well, but inside I've added a piece of metal running from just below the intake port to nearly the end of the angled portion of the vent, with a brace connecting it to the body to keep it stable. You can't see it but there should be drip holes at the point where the new plate hits the flashing for water drainage.
The idea being, lint flies in and cannot be forced directly down to the gap in question, but water will hit the tray, run back and go through the drip holes.
That or replace it with this
They sell inline lint traps, that can be installed along the exhaust vent.
This should catch most; if not all of the excess lint, and give you a convenient easy way to clean the lint. The lint should be cleaned often (along with the dryers internal lint trap), to increase dryer efficiency and decrease the chance of fire.
Keep in mind, these are recommended to be used with a "booster fan" setup. If your exhaust line is longer than about 6' (1.8 m), you'll have to install a dryer booster fan to safely use one of these lint traps.
If you have a gas dryer, you may not be able to use an inline lint trap. Check with the manufacturer of the dryer, before installing a lint trap like this.
Warning
They sell products like this that have an open front, that "deflect" heat into the house. These are not a good idea, since they also "deflect" moisture into the home which can lead to mold and poor indoor air quality.
Best Answer
Use fish tape:
It's a sturdy, yet flexible metal rod meant for running cables. Figure out which of the two openings you can easily pull from, hard. Insert the tape from that end until it emerges on the other side. Then cut holes in a towel and secure it to the fish tape with zip ties or hose clamps, and pull it back through.
The rag or towel should force the brush out of its way on the way back.
In the future, NEVER use brush rods that can unscrew to clean a dryer vent. Only use the kind that are permanently attached to a tough braided wire.