College life can be full of new experiences. For me, college meant being out on my own for the first time. While it’s great staying out late and making many, pointless trips to Taco Bell, it can also be challenging when real-life obstacles arise. And, well, it’s always something.

But with time comes experience, and with experience comes knowledge. I am now a junior in college, so I have finally overcome the everyday obstacle of doing laundry –and of course by overcome I mean throwing everything together in the “cold” wash.

This laundry accomplishment met a speed bump this week when my dryer stopped drying my clothes.

After a phone call to my landlord, (a.k.a. my sister) my high hopes for a shiny new dryer soon diminished as I climbed to the back of the laundry closet and found myself elbow deep in moist lint.

Yes, I got a lesson in dryer vents. As my sister continued to give me moral support via speaker phone, she informed me that clogged dryer vents can be a fire hazard.

And she was right. According to Consumer Reports, more than 13,000 fires a year start in laundry rooms in the United States, resulting in 10 deaths and $97 million in property damage. About a third of these fires stem from lint buildup that occurs when people fail to clean their dryer vents.

After properly growing concerned about the fire hazard, I was also warned that if the dryer duct is not placed back on properly, there is also a carbon monoxide hazard.

So here’s to having a happy landlord, clean air and fluffy towels:

For dryer vent safety, Consumer Reports advises to avoid flexible dryer ducts, as they are the most problematic since lint can build up at low points. No matter what kind of duct you may have, clean the lint trap after every load.

According to VentSmart dryer cleaning, signs that your dryer isn’t ventilating properly include excessive drying time, lint accumulation on the dryer door and a hot surface top.

As proud as I was of myself for taking off the duct from the back of my dryer and cleaning the lint out by myself, it was still deeply clogged. I had to call a professional.

Apparently a bird had decided to build its nest in my dryer vent, which lead to two large clogs.

On that note, I found that bird guards for dryer vents are sold, and purchasing one may be a good investment.

In short, nothing burned down, and nobody got carbon monoxide poisoning. It was a good week.

Here’s what I learned:

Cleaning lint traps could save your life.

Buying a bird guard could save you $150.

Don’t count on your landlord to buy you a pretty new dryer.

When in doubt, call a professional.

Editor’s note: This article contains a personal testimony and statistics on the basics of dryer ventilation. If feel your dryer is not ventilating properly, consult a specialist.

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