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22ndCenturyMedia.com Healthy Living guide<br />
22nd century media | January 17, 2019 | 13<br />
New Lenox-based<br />
business works to make<br />
clothes dryers safer<br />
Hidden buildup in clothes<br />
dryer vent can be fire hazard<br />
DON’T LET YOUR DRYER<br />
START A<br />
FIRE!<br />
Most people know they need to clean<br />
out their dryer lint tray between each<br />
cycle, but what lurks behind the wall is<br />
just as important for safety and avoiding<br />
fire traps, as well as fully efficient dryer<br />
performance. Joe Enzenberger, owner<br />
of Dryer Vent Wizard, opened his New<br />
Lenox-based business in 2009.<br />
Lint is the villain — lint that has been<br />
allowed to build up and linger too long in<br />
the dryer exhaust vent.<br />
It is estimated by the U.S. Consumer<br />
Product Safety Commission and the U.S.<br />
Fire Administration that 15,500 fires associated<br />
with clothes dryers occur annually.<br />
These fires account for an average of<br />
20 deaths, 370 injuries and more than $88<br />
million in property damage. “Failure to<br />
clean the dryer vent” was the leading factor<br />
cited in U.S. Fire Administration reports.<br />
“It is something very few people know<br />
about or think about,” said Enzenberger,<br />
whose company specializes in dryer vent<br />
cleaning, repair, alteration and installation.<br />
“It is the leading cause of dryer<br />
fires.”<br />
Lint accumulation also can cause dryers<br />
to stop working or to work inefficiently.<br />
A dryer vent clogged with lint can add as<br />
much as $18 to $24 per month to energy<br />
costs.<br />
“Improper venting causes problems,<br />
as well,” Enzenberger said. “The dryer<br />
exhaust duct and connections should be<br />
made of rigid metal or semi-rigid metal<br />
and secured with metal heat-resistant tape<br />
rather than duct tape. I often find plastic<br />
or foil accordion-type material, which can<br />
easily trap lint and is more susceptible to<br />
kinks and crushing.”<br />
Warning signs include:<br />
• Clothes are taking more than one cycle<br />
to dry, especially jeans and towels.<br />
• No lint visible on lint screen.<br />
• Dryer repeatedly stops during a cycle.<br />
• Clothes have moldy smell after dry cycle.<br />
• Clothes are very hot after a dry cycle.<br />
• The top of your dryer hot to the touch<br />
while running.<br />
• There is excess lint left on clothing.<br />
“This has been a consumer education<br />
process, but it’s hard to get the word out,”<br />
Enzenberger said. “Most don’t call until<br />
they have a serious problem with their<br />
dryer.”<br />
He suggests people treat clothes dryers<br />
as a household item in need of regular<br />
maintenance. Consumers can protect<br />
dryer performance and promote safety<br />
by cleaning the lint screen between each<br />
use, ensuring the connection between the<br />
dryer and wall is made of compliant material<br />
and remains un-kinked, and having<br />
the dryer exhaust duct cleaned regularly.<br />
Dryer manufacturers recommend inspection<br />
and cleaning at least annually.<br />
Now that the holidays are over, it is<br />
a great time to have an inspection and<br />
cleaning of clothes dryers and dryer vent<br />
systems.<br />
Another important tip for dryer users:<br />
to never let the clothes dryer run when<br />
they are out of the house or asleep.<br />
Submitted by Dryer Vent Wizard, 1505<br />
Cherrywood Lane in New Lenox. For more<br />
information, visit www.dryerventwizard.com<br />
or call (815) 215-2090.<br />
Before<br />
WARNING!<br />
If your dryer takes longer than one cycle<br />
to dry your clothes, then you may have a<br />
fire hazard in your vent.<br />
Dryer Vent Cleaning<br />
Installation<br />
Alteration<br />
Repair<br />
WE ACCEPT<br />
SAVE $ 10<br />
ANY SERVICE!<br />
815-215-2090<br />
www.dryerventwizard.com<br />
Call Today!<br />
After<br />
815-215-2090<br />
www.dryerventwizard.com