How can a dryer vent be dangerous?

Dryer vents are responsible for 34% of house fires and cause an estimated 5 deaths, 100 injuries, and $35 million of property loss. I got those stats from FEMA.

So take a minute and go and check your lint trap.

If you notice your laundry room has been getting hot and humid recently, check the vent connection in the back of your dryer and where the vent enters the wall.

Walk around the outside of your house and look for the exit of the dryer vent. Does it have a cage around it? Is that cage filled with lint? Grab a screw driver, remove the vent cover and clean it out. Then go to the hardware store and buy a vent cover without a cage, but make sure it has a damper (flappy thing that keeps wind from blowing in). ​