Clogged Dryer Vent

As I mentioned in the previous post, yesterday started out relatively stressful.  Andy mowed the yard while I did our first load of laundry in the new house.  Everything was hooked and was good to go or so I thought.  The washer worked fine.  Our dryer, on the other hand, not so much.  When I opened up the dryer to check on the towels, I noticed an electrical smell.  I had never noticed this smell in our previous home, so I thought maybe it needed to warm up since it had been unplugged and unused for over a week.  I turned it back on for a little bit and opened the door again.  Still smelled electrical.  So I kept it off until Andy finished the yard and could come in to smell it.  Sure enough, Andy verified the weird smell and actually said it more of an electrical burning smell.  Not good!  I won't leave my dryer running when no one is home, so this really had me worried. 

Andy went outside to check the vent and there was no air coming out of it.  Great... we have a clog... in a pipe... that we can't reach.  I immediately googled dryer vent cleaning companies.  I found one and called them.  They had an open appointment the same day between 12:00 and 2:00, but it was going to cost $139 plus tax.  Ouch!  Andy thought that he might be able to suck out the clog with our shop-vac, but he had no luck.  So, I called the company back and scheduled the appointment.  The guy that showed up was extremely nice and helpful.  Andy followed him around everywhere to see the process because we might be able clean it ourselves and save the 150 dollars.  It took him about an hour and apparently there was a relatively large clog.  I wish I had taken a picture of it, but I was too busy cleaning the kitchen.  We were actually looing the wrong vent in the beginning.  Our dryer vent releases through the roof which is good to know.  But either way, we have a clean dryer vent now!!  I am just glad I can wash and dry my clothes safely and not worry about burning my home down.

We have a home warranty on the house and it covers a great deal of things.  But, of course, the one thing it did not cover was a dryer vent cleaning.  We are actually upset with the inspector that he didn't catch it.  Andy said you could see the clog if you simply looked in the vent.  I may call the inspection company we used and complain.  We paid them $500 to inspect our house, and they could have, should have found that clog!