My dryer takes two cycles to dry a load

Likely causes, most common first

These are the restrictions that turn one cycle into two, from the most likely to the least likely.

1. Most common

   Lint packed along the duct run

   The sign: A hood flap that barely moves, a dryer top too hot to rest a hand on, a scorched smell, and lint around the hood outside.

   The fix: The vent is cleaned end to end with a rotary brush and vacuum, from the dryer connection to the hood. Dryer Vent Cleaning, from $149

2. Common

   The flexible hose behind the dryer is crushed or kinked

   The sign: A dryer shoved tight to the wall, a foil hose folded over on itself, or drying that got slow right after the machine was moved.

   The fix: We straighten or replace the transition behind the dryer with a short metal connection during the cleaning. Dryer Vent Cleaning, from $149

3. Common

   The outside hood is stuck shut, screened over or holding a nest

   The sign: A flap painted shut or mashed with lint, a screen someone added to keep birds out, or a bird going in and out in spring.

   The fix: The hood is cleared and freed, or replaced with one whose flap swings open on its own, after any nest is out. Dryer Vent Cleaning, from $149

4. Less common

   A long run with too many bends, or a vent that ends in the attic or crawl space

   The sign: A laundry room in the middle of the house or upstairs, lint in the attic, or a crawl space that smells like warm laundry.

   The fix: We clean what is there, measure the run, show you where it ends and scope a reroute if it never reaches outside. Dryer Vent Cleaning, from $149

5. Less common

   The dryer itself: element, thermostat or lint in the blower housing

   The sign: Strong, steady air at the hood but clothes that stay cool, or no heat at all on any setting.

   The fix: Strong flow at the hood after a cleaning points at the appliance, and we say so rather than clean the vent twice. Dryer Vent Cleaning, from $149

Two minutes of safe checks

Four checks from the laundry room and the yard that tell you whether the vent or the dryer is the slow part.

• Clean the lint screen, then run water over it: if the water beads up instead of passing through, dryer sheet residue has filmed it, and it needs a wash with dish soap and a soft brush.
• With the dryer running, go outside and watch the hood for a minute: the flap should swing wide and stay there, with a steady push of warm, damp air behind it.
• Feel the top of the dryer and the air in the laundry room at the end of a cycle: a hot cabinet and a muggy room mean the heat and moisture are staying inside instead of leaving through the vent.
• Shine a flashlight behind the dryer: a foil or plastic hose crushed flat, folded, or sagging with a low spot where lint collects is a restriction visible from the doorway.

Nothing on this list needs a ladder, the roof or a lit fire. Leave those to the visit.

Why a slow dryer is a fire matter and not only a nuisance

A slow dryer is a fire matter because a blocked vent holds lint, which is dry, fine and burns easily, next to the heating element. That is why it deserves attention beyond the power bill.

A 2012 U.S. Fire Administration report on 2008 to 2010 data estimated about 2,900 clothes dryer fires in residential buildings a year, and found that failure to clean was the factor most often involved, at 34 percent. Dust, fiber and lint were the materials most often ignited first.

The practical version is simple: a short, straight, rigid or semi-rigid metal duct ending outside with a flap that swings freely, cleaned when the signs appear. Two cycles to dry a load is often the first of those signs.

Where Portland dryer vents run, and why they clog

In a 1970s or 1980s house in Beaverton, Tigard, Aloha or Gresham with the laundry on an inside wall, the vent runs far under the floor or through the roof, and long runs clog. Housing in Washington and Clackamas counties peaks in those decades.

A roof termination sits under fir needles and moss from fall into spring, and a hood on the rain side of the house gets its flap gummed with wet lint. Both close slowly enough that the two-cycle habit creeps in unnoticed.

In the older houses of the inner east side, a basement dryer often vents through a window well or a hood near grade, where leaves and birds find it. Those short, low runs tend to clog at the hood.

What a dryer vent cleaning involves

The visit covers the whole path, because lint settles wherever the air slows down.

1. The connection behind the dryer

   We pull the dryer out, disconnect the transition hose, clear lint from the dryer outlet, and replace a crushed foil or plastic transition with a short metal one.

2. The duct, end to end

   A rotary brush on flexible rods works through the duct while a vacuum pulls the loosened lint out, from inside and from the hood, until the brush comes back clean.

3. The hood

   The outside hood is cleared of lint, nests and screens, and its flap is freed or the hood replaced so it opens with the dryer and closes against rain and birds.

4. The airflow check

   We check the push of air at the hood before and after, and run the dryer so you can see the flap stand open. Strong flow with clothes that still come out cool points at the appliance, and we tell you so plainly.

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