Many of us do laundry without thinking much about it. We wash our clothes. We throw them in the dryer. We put them away. Then we start the process all over again.

There are several things about doing laundry that are common knowledge. For example, you probably already know that it’s important to separate dark colors from light colors while you do laundry. You probably also know that some clothes shouldn’t be put in the dryer, and some clothes are dry clean only. In addition, you probably also know that it’s important to clean the dryer lint filter between loads of laundry.

What you may not realize is that even if you clean out the lint filter between every load of laundry, there will still be lint in your dryer vent. As time goes by, that vent collects more and more lint, sometimes dangerous amounts of lint.

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, 2,900 house fires every year are caused by clothes dryers in residential homes. These fires cause an average of 5 deaths and 100 injuries in addition to $35 million in property loss. These fires are preventable.

The biggest cause of house fires from clothes dryers is failure to clean the dryer. In order to prevent these fires, you need to clean your dryer vent. You might be surprised how much lint, dirt, hair and debris is hiding inside your dryer vent.

Watch the video below to see just how much lint is hiding in the average dryer vent and learn more about why it is important to get your dryer vent cleaned on a regular basis.

When was the last time you cleaned your dryer vent? Did you know that your dryer vent could cause a house fire? Does this video make you more likely to get your dryer vent cleaned?