Filtration Soiling
(Those ugly black lines around the baseboards and under doorways) If you have light colored carpet, you may have experienced dark lines that appear mostly around the edge of the room and under doorways. This soiling is called filtration soiling because it comes from air passing through the carpet as it is attempting to get through the crack between the carpet and the baseboard or under a closed door. As the air passes through the edge of the carpet pile, this microscopic soiling is deposited there ( hence the term filtration soiling). This occurs over a significant period of time and is not noticed until a buildup has occurred. This type of soiling is difficult to remove because the soil particles are so fine that they penetrate deep into the carpet pile, sometimes into the backing of the carpet.
Can it be removed? Sometimes. With special products, time effort, reasonable results can sometimes be achieved.
To help prevent filtration soiling, vacuum and wipe the edges of the carpeting on a regular basis.
How Often Should Dryer Vents Be Cleaned?
I wanted to cover the subject of how often dryer vents should be cleaned. Most dryer vents should be cleaned at least every 2 years or so. This depends on the length of your vent and how often the dryer is used weekly. Cleaning the dryer vent can help prevent the possibility of a house fire. Plus, it can save you money on electricity (or gas cost). A clean vent allows the dryer to do a better job, allowing your clothes to dry quickly with less energy consumed. Take time to notice if your dryer seems to be running longer with the same amount of clothes, it may be time to have the vent cleaned.
We often see the white flexible vinyl type vent coming out the back of 90% of dryers we service. This type of material can be highly flammable and creates dangerous fumes when catching the vinyl connector between the dryer and wall on fire. If the lint catches on fire while the dryer is running it can also blow balls of lint around in the area where the dryer sits and behind the sheetrock behind the dryer which causes the fire to spread faster. Hopefully, you catch it soon enough and the fire dept gets there in time to keep the damage to a minimum. The washer/ dryer area is one place we recommend putting a smoke detector to give a early warning about smoke or fire in this area . Also, have a good A,B, C type fire extinguisher ( like one you see in the hardware store, etc.) handy in case you need one quick. That can be the difference between you knocking down a small fire or having the house burn down.
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dryer-vent-fire
DIRTY DRYER #1 CAUSE OF FIRES