Recently, I have noticed my electric Frigidaire dryer cabinet has been getting warmer than usual when running. Also, the clothes need much longer dry times before they are dry. So, I suspected the dryer exhaust vent was blocked. My vent system consists of about 10 feet of flexible, foil type vent pipe that extends through the laundry room floor and connects to the vent fitting at the side of the house. A thorough blowing with my powerful shop vac yielded lots of dust, lint and dirt expelled from the vent pipe. I also took this occasion to blow out the air passages in the dryer. There was lots of lint in the dryer itself even though the lint screen is empties before each use.
I suspect that rigid galvanized style vent pipe might not block with lint. I am contemplating changing my vent system to rigid stove pipe style vent with the flexible used only for transitions and joints.
After cleaning, the flex vent is free and flowing dryer air without restriction. Clothes now dry much quicker. I use only the lowest heat setting on both my clothes dryers to preserve the belt and save energy.
What are your thoughts?