18 replies to this topic

[Tim M]

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. Twice this week I could have used a 4" duct brush better than the one I have.  The flexible shaft, like a plumbing snake, just isn't too useful and not long enough.



I was considering one of these that hooks up to a drill:



The stiffness works to get it down the pipe.  Just don't put the drill in reverse or the shafts unscrew inside the duct.

.   Here's a video:

http://www.youtube.com/v/jalB6Xd39dg&hl=en&fs=1

$30 for the set, $22 to add an additional 12' of shafts.



. What do the rest of you use?  And what do you think of this product?

[TroyAC]

I use the top one posted. I am on my second one in five years so it has lasted. the first one broke about a foot from the brush head. The new is getting weak there also. I tend to use it anytime I service a dryer, just a little something I do.

[appl.tech.29501]

Lint Eater

[ROBBYRIG]

We use the linteater along with hooking up an electric leaf blower on the inside. Works extremely well. You end up looking like you've been tarred and feathered when you're done.

[Tim M]

[user=34365]ROBBYRIG[/user] wrote:

We use the linteater along with hooking up an electric leaf blower on the inside. Works extremely well. You end up looking like you've been tarred and feathered when you're done.

Robbyrig:  Glad I used it with a vacuum on my first try!!  I thought I might save a step and hook it up to the dryer, but it would have blown out a few gallons of lint right to where I had to stand to feed it in.  The LintCatcher assesory would stop the tarred and feathered look.  You can see it in the video, and it might be easy to make your own.  Why use a leafblower instead of a shop vac or the dryer itself?





. Picked up the Linteater earlier in the day at locally owned hardware store.  Linteater cost $31, and they ordered a set of extensions for me for $17.  No shipping, and cheaper than buying online, anyway.

. Went out that evening to service a dryer, and gave them a free cleaning too just to try it out.  I was going to get out the vacuum to clean out the dryer anyway, so I hooked the duct up so that just so I wouldn't leave a mess in their driveway.  I hadn't considered that if I did it the quick and dirty way, by letting the dryer blow out the lint, that it would be me that ended up quick and dirty!

.   Just hooked up the extensions by hand.  They got plenty tight enough that way, so that I still had to put pliers on to seperate them afterwards.  If I were cleaning out a vent that ran within a finished wall and ceiling, I probably would tighten them with pliers and put duct tape on the joints, as suggested, to make sure that if the drill accidentally got reversed and the extentions unscrewed from each other that I wouldn't have linteater parts stuck in the ducting behind drywall.  If all the is ducting accesible, though, even in the extreemely unlikely event the drill did get put in reverse, I could always just open up the duct to get it out.  So the extra caution wouldn't be necessary.

.   They had foil ducting, and the manual said to use extra care with vinyl (which should be replaced anyway) and foil.  I ran it on the slow and cautious side, and it worked great.  I was surprised that the foil didn't get nicked up at all.  I got two or three gallons in my Shop Vac.  Had to use duct tape to connect the hose of the shop vac to the adapter, because I have the small size hose on my vacuum.

[moon13]

I use the "linteater", hook up a shop vac where the dryer attaches to the exhaust. Duct tape sections together, run the drill at low speed. Works great.:grr:

[Tim M]

.   I just used it again yesterday.  I don't bother to tape sections together, as they have to be undone with pliers anyway.  If I was worried about it, I could put them together with pliers.  If I keep the drill in forward there is no worry.

.   Took out a foot or so of nest, followed by a couple of feet of lint.  The clog attachment wasn't working it was in there so hard, but the brush could spin in, and pull pieces back out.  Took a few tries, but nothing else would have worked.

[misterfix]

Here at the apartment complex I work at, the boss decided to buy this Lint Eater and try it on a plugged dryer vent.  I had my doubts but I was over ruled.  We use a leaf blower to blow out all the vents when the apartment becomes empty and this one had NOT a whisper of air coming out.  I thought, Hmmmmm, the pipe is open in between the floor and ceiling.  Boss proceeds to run the linteater in and it gets stuck about 9 feet in from the outside.  The next day we cut out the ceiling and found the vent pipe disconnected in 2 places and the metal "cutter" head had started chewing into some HVAC flex vent!  I still think this can be a good tool to have on hand, but some common sense needs to be used also. 

[appl.tech.29501]

Indeed, if only the designers of apartment complexes would position the laundry rooms on an outside wall instead of venting throug the ceilings and or connecting 4 vents in 1 all our problems would be solved

[misterfix]

I agree with you there.  Ours are piped individually, but they for sure are NOT on outside walls!

[Tim M]

[user=61640]misterfixer[/user] wrote:

The next day we cut out the ceiling and found the vent pipe disconnected in 2 places and the metal "cutter" head had started chewing into some HVAC flex vent!  I still think this can be a good tool to have on hand, but some common sense needs to be used also.

You're right: common sense accompanied by reading the directions.  Did your boss see that the metal head, isn't a "cutter" head at all it a blockage remover.  That is only supposed to be used by hand!  The brush goes on a drill but not the blockage remover.  I suppose you could use the blockage remover on a drill if you are VERY careful.

Still, I do get nervous using the thing in pipes that aren't exposed so I can easily open them if things go wrong.

[completeapplianceservice]

Or apartments with enclosed vents should always use solid pipe, we have a ton of units here with foil or plastic vent that just wear out over time.

[RegUS_PatOff]

[user=49845]completeapplianceservice[/user] wrote:

... we have a ton of units here with foil or plastic vent ...

:spaz:   :burning:

[Tim M]

Great pictures.

Been using the Linteater a lot.

Another tip: make sure you tape the flapper on the outside exhaust hood open before hooking up the vacuum cleaner to the duct.  I turned on the vacuum, got up to go outside, and I heard the flapper slam close and a section of ducting split open.  This was no big deal as the duct was all exposed, easily assesible, and the seam just snapped back together.  It would have been a nightmare if the duct was in a ceiling or in a wall!

Second tip: remove or breakup any total blockages with the blockage tool, before you turn on a vacuum.  If there is no airflow through the vacuum because the duct is completely blocked, you will overheat the vacuum and burn out the motor.

[madbrad]

I have this duster with bristles similar to those on an Oscar type broom. Stiff enough to stand straight away from the stick and frizzies at the ends. There's a large dome arrangement of them. It fits into the louver outside and I can scrub inside the duct. I do it while the dryer is running so the lint flies out.
The handle is long enough to reach the 90 deg elbow, about 14" in, and I can't clean this way any farther than that. It's one of those rectangular flat sliding adjustable dryer duct thingies at that point. There don't seem to be any flow restrictions but I try to keep the parts I can access as clear as possible.

[kdog]

[user=28611]Tim M[/user] wrote:

 If there is no airflow through the vacuum because the duct is completely blocked, you will overheat the vacuum and burn out the motor.

Doesn't blocking the air going into a vacuum motor underlaod the motor ?  If you put a current clamp on the motor, the draw goes down significantly with the suction port blocked

[Tim M]

.   OK, I've posted on Lint brushes, duct booster fans, and dryer duct ells.  Thought I'd round out the topic with this.



http://www.lintalert.com/

It senses backpressure in the dryer duct due to lint buildup and trips an alarm  From the website:

The LintAlert® is a smart, easy-to-install home safety device that uses pressure differential technology to monitor your dryer's ventilation system. When any blockage occurs, back pressure is produced. When a dangerous level has been detected the device will initiate an alert mode. The SmartTap™ fitting is installed in the transition hose at or near the dryers exhaust port and is connected to the alarm module by the 1/8" tube.
http://shop.dryerbox.../it.A/id.236/.f

Don't know how well it works and there is no substitute for just keeping your duct clean and checking the exhaust.  Better than having your house burn down, I guess.

[Tim M]

Whoops.  The ells and booster I referred to weren't in this post, they are here:
http://www.appliance...rum2/23631.html

[Liu Bob]

hmmm