A bad smell coming from your device is a sure-fire sign you need dryer vent cover repair ASAP. This bad smell can permeate through the dryer, spreading across your home.
Worse, a faulty dryer vent cover can cause a fire. While it isn’t an everyday occurrence, a recent NFPA report has confirmed that a faulty dryer vent cover can lead to a fire outbreak. This report is an indication of how urgent dryer vent cover repair is.
Figuring out that your dryer cover repair is bad isn’t hard. The smell already does most of the job! Conversely, fixing the faulty dryer cover is an entirely different kettle of fish.
This guide is your step-by-step guide to dryer vent cover repair. Here, we’ll start by explaining the common problems that can cause a faulty dryer vent cover and tips to avoid them. After that, we’ll examine each step to fixing a faulty dryer vent cover. Let’s get into it!
Common Problems Affecting a Dryer Vent Cover
How to fix a faulty dryer vent cover starts with understanding the causative agent behind the fault. This knowledge will help you maintain your dryer vent cover and prevent future damage.
Some of the common culprits to look out for include;
Moisturized Dirt
Algae, mildew, mould, are contaminants known as moisturized dirt. Moisturised dirt thrives in warm areas where there is water and darkness. Consequently, the insides of your dryer is an ideal breeding ground and there’s really not much you can do about it.
A dryer’s primary function is to dry wet cloth items. Hence, your dryer always has the moisture and environment that algae and similar dirt require for growth. It’s nearly impossible to prevent the dryer from breeding moisturized dirt.
When the dryer is on, some moisture in the dryer gets out through the vents. But in the most likely case, you switch off your dryer immediately after the drying cycle is complete. That leaves some moisture staying mainly around your vent area. Over time, the moisture will affect the vent cover, and you may need dryer repair soon.
The best way to prevent moisture from affecting your vents is regular cleaning. You may not have enough time to clean every day. But, you can create a routine and stick to it. Even with a regular cleaning schedule, it’s advisable to keep the dryer working for a few minutes after the drying cycle is complete. This way, any moisture remaining around the vents will dry up and evaporate.
High Heat
A dryer uses heat energy to dry your clothes and other materials in it. Modern dryers can produce high heat levels to ensure your clothes dry fast. But this heat needs an exit point after drying your clothes.
Dryer vents are that exit point, ensuring high heat leaves your dryer safely. The importance of a dryer vent is why we often recommend expert dryer repair and installation services. An expert will use durable materials while installing your dryer vents.
The choice of material here will determine how impervious your dryer vent cover is to the high heat levels. Therefore, poor installation and high heat levels can combine to cause damage to your dryer vent cover.
Extremely high heat leaves a residue behind in dryer vents. This residue is known as lint and can block airflow through your dryer vents. Over time, this restriction in airflow can affect the integrity of your dryer vent cover.
The best way to prevent this problem is frequent checks. Try to study how your dryer sounds when it is still new. That way, you’ll easily notice a change in the dryer’s sound when there is a blockage
Dryer Vent Cover Quality
Dryers come in different sizes, designs, and materials. The design and materials are entirely the manufacturer’s choice but PVC and metal are the common choices.
PVC dryers are better in tighter spaces and work perfectly indoors. Conversely, metal dryers not only look better than the PVC, and you can use them outside your home without fear (but plan for possible rust).
The quality of the primary vent material determines its resistance towards external factors like pets and weather elements. Some vent covers have little strength, while others are very strong. Vent covers with minimal durability may be less expensive. But they’ll break and require repairs with the slightest contact.
Location of the Dryer Vent Cover
The dryer vent cover’s location is a minor detail that can easily translate to vent cover damage. Installing the dryer vent cover in the wrong location can determine how frequently you’ll need to repair the component.
The dryer vent cover is usually outside the home. That way, the device can easily pass heat energy outside the home. But even outside the home, its positioning must be deliberate to avoid incessant damage to the vent cover.
For instance, let’s assume your dryer vent extends unnecessarily outside your home. Anyone passing by without noticing the vent may hit the cover, damaging it in the process.
Related Article: Dryer Vent Cleaning, Repair & Installation
How to Fix A Faulty Dryer Vent Cover
Fixing a faulty dryer vent cover is a job you should preferably call on an expert to do. The expert finds the problem, fixes the new cover, and prevents other issues. Consequently, it’s more like you’re servicing the dryer.
In contrast, there’s nothing wrong with fixing a faulty dryer cover yourself, especially if you’re a fan of DIY processes. Similarly, in a case where you have only recently serviced your dryer at a high cost, contacting an expert may not be a good option.
Here’s are the steps you should follow to repair your dryer vent cover;
Get Some Tools
Some essential tools to fix your faulty dryer vent cap include;
- A replacement dryer vent cover
- Caulk to replace previous dryer vent cover caulk.
- A four-way screwdriver will come in handy to unscrew the nuts and bolts. With a four-way screwdriver, one of the screw mouths will fit the nuts of the dryer. If you buy a screwdriver of one size, you may get the wrong size, which will lead to a waste of money.
- Hammer to remove all forms of a hindrance to the dryer vent connection. Do not destroy what you can’t fix. Call an expert!
Thorough Inspection
Dryer vents have different installation techniques due to their design and material requirements. Therefore, you have to properly check the connection, even if you’ve been there during an installation in the past. You will get the best tips to fix your dryer vent cover when you check the dryer properly.
Before you start inspecting, make sure your dryer is turned off. That should be the first check. After confirming that, you now have to look for a way to easily get to the dryer cover.
Because the pipes used to install a dryer can be weak, the experts ensure they discreet these pipe locations. That way, they ensure they take the pipes away from common pathways. Hence, you may need to open your basement or crawlspace to access the vent cover easily.
After getting the vent cover, you must check what you need to Unhook the vent. That leads us to the next point.
Unhook Vent Cover
Your dryer vent cover may break outside, but to repair it, you need to unscrew it from inside. There are diverse ways to install a dryer in the home, depending on the dryer type, size, and space for installation. No matter the initial installation you meet, ensure you never rush to unhook the vent cover.
Unhooking the dryer vent cover is the most critical step of the repair. Therefore, you don’t want any mistakes at this point. Get your tools and wear safety kits to safeguard yourself from any hazards. Some vent covers may not need to use any tools, but that indicates the wrong installation. This won’t be the case if you hire an expert.
Most vent covers will need you to at least unscrew the vent. Usually, the screws holding the vent cover are at the back. Depending on the size of the nuts, your four-way screwdriver should fit one and unscrew.
An expert may install a vent with screws and still add duct tapes for more safety purposes. Removing these duct tapes is an effortless task; you only need to pull them out. Remember that you’ll have to replace the duct tapes the exact way you met them. So if you’ll need to take a picture of the installation beforehand, please do.
With caulk, the most complex and secure way of fixing a dryer vent cover. In most cases, you will have to cut the caulk away. This is a sign of good installation, but fixing the faulty dryer vent cover will complicate it.
Cutting the caulk isn’t the problem; fixing a new one after the installation is the problem. Your best bet is to hire an expert when you notice a caulk casing.v
Check Dryer Components Properly
By following the steps discussed above, you should have your cover and vent detached. Before you start working on the dryer vent cover, you need to know what happened. Was your dryer not well installed, or did it get spoiled because of the debris? You should get apparent answers to these questions after opening the dryer vent.
Also, if you don’t want to bother with dryer vent cover repair or any form of dryer repair, you should check other components. Check the lint screen, wire connections, and others to ensure that only the cover has a problem. Once you see any issues, fix them alongside your vent dryer cover.
Prepare and Install New Dryer Vent Cover
To fix your dryer vent cover correctly, you need not rush. All you have to do is get the accurate measurement of the old dryer vent cover and cut your new vent cover to size.
Try not to cut the device all at once; cut a small part and check if you’re on track. After that, install the new dryer vent cover carefully. As much as possible, ensure your new installation resembles the initial one.
Related Article: How to Replace A Broken Dryer Vent Cap
In the End
Dryer vent cover repair is not easy, but you won’t have any problems with the steps discussed in this guide. The question is will you have the patience and discipline to follow the steps? At your first trial, you shouldn’t expect perfection — it is near impossible.
If you want perfection, your best bet is to get an expert to help you repair it. As a top appliance repair company, we have experts that understand the art of dryer installation and repair. Check our dryer repair services today!
