# Do you ever REALLY clean your dryer lint screen? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 13, 2011, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-really-clean-your-dryer-lint-screen/596152 "2011-09-13T13:05:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-really-clean-your-dryer-lint-screen/596152/21 "2011-09-13T16:09:02Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > As I’ve mentioned on this Board before, I look forward to cleaning the lint trap in the dryer after each load. That’s because I have no life. > > It’s fascinating what you “catch”, but it’s also essential, because that buildup – which is pretty significant – blocks the flow of dryer air. Sometimes I’ll even clean it off in the middle of a cycle, if it’s likely to be heavy.. > > I also vacuum out the lint from the vent, invariably at Pepper Mill’s insistence. Yes… but do you actually scrub it clean as per the OP? I answered the poll thinking like you do, but the OP talks about scrubbing clean to get residue off. That I never do. ---
**Author:** ![Nefarious\_Chipmunk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nefarious_chipmunk/32/1045_2.png) [@Nefarious\_Chipmunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nefarious_Chipmunk)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-really-clean-your-dryer-lint-screen/596152/22 "2011-09-13T16:22:07Z")
I do it probably about every 6 months. I enjoy it. When you start the screen catches water and it pools in the screen. Once you scrub with soap, the water runs right through. It is clearly doing something. I was always under the impression that the invisible film slows air flow. I do think that my dryer dries clothing more quickly after I wash the screen, although I have never actually timed it. FWIW, I occasionally use dryer sheets and never use fabric softener. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-really-clean-your-dryer-lint-screen/596152/23 "2011-09-13T16:22:28Z")
Every so often. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-really-clean-your-dryer-lint-screen/596152/24 "2011-09-13T16:28:26Z")
Nope. Never heard of it. Plus, I don’t use dryer sheets. ---
**Author:** ![impatien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c89c15/32.png) [@impatien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/impatien)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-really-clean-your-dryer-lint-screen/596152/25 "2011-09-13T16:33:19Z")
I put mine through the dishwasher occasionally. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-really-clean-your-dryer-lint-screen/596152/26 "2011-09-13T17:38:09Z")
Never heard of the issue, but don’t use dryer sheets. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-really-clean-your-dryer-lint-screen/596152/27 "2011-09-13T18:29:59Z")
I am another “vinegar in with the towels” person and no dryer sheets. I clean the lint trap every time, saving the lint for backpacking (best fire starter ever). ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-really-clean-your-dryer-lint-screen/596152/28 "2011-09-13T18:33:34Z")
ETA: That’s what I get for answering the title, not the OP. No, I don’t go that far. I do brush the lint off before every load, however. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-really-clean-your-dryer-lint-screen/596152/29 "2011-09-13T19:35:34Z")
I remove the lint every time I use it, and that’s all it needs. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-really-clean-your-dryer-lint-screen/596152/30 "2011-09-13T20:00:36Z")
> [@LionelHutz405](#): > > I scrubbed it once, after reading about the supposed dryer sheet buildup. > There was nothing to clean off. No buildup, and I use dryer sheets. > > Maybe it doesn’t build up because I cut the sheets in half. They work just as well and, if my math is correct :p, last twice as long. - 1. Always cut in half., always removed soft lint. Never scrubbed screen… ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-really-clean-your-dryer-lint-screen/596152/31 "2011-09-13T20:07:01Z")
The incident that led to my OP was my replacing of my dryer a week ago. Since I live way out in the country, home delivery and haul off of appliances is not an option. I still have the old dryer on my porch. I’ll check waterflow through the lint screen before and after scrubbing this evening. BTW, my wife is a fabric softener and dryer sheet addict. ---
**Author:** ![MoodIndigo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@MoodIndigo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoodIndigo1)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-really-clean-your-dryer-lint-screen/596152/32 "2011-09-13T20:16:31Z")
I cut the softener sheets in half too. Whenever I want to share such tips with the SDMB denizens, someone has beat me to it. I clean the lint filter after every load. I vacuum the lint from the vent. Still, I wash the lint filter with soap and hot water and rinse thoroughly pretty often, about once a month. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-really-clean-your-dryer-lint-screen/596152/33 "2011-09-13T20:18:58Z")
If you want to find out if scrubbing the lint screen is necessary, just lay it over the sink and pour a cup of water into it. It’s a rather eye opening experience. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-really-clean-your-dryer-lint-screen/596152/34 "2011-09-13T20:29:08Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Yes… but do you actually scrub it clean as per the OP? I answered the poll thinking like you do, but the OP talks about scrubbing clean to get residue off. That I never do. Not with a brush and soap and water, but I do scrape it off with fingernails, not just peeling it clean. ---
**Author:** ![Marconi\_N.Cheese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Marconi\_N.Cheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marconi_N.Cheese)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-really-clean-your-dryer-lint-screen/596152/35 "2011-09-13T22:35:49Z")
Oops! I don’t scrub it, no need to. I just use an old dryer sheet on it and the lint peels right off into the trash. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-really-clean-your-dryer-lint-screen/596152/36 "2011-09-13T22:40:59Z")
Yes, I scrape the lint off the screen after every load that I dry. This isn’t all that often though, because I dry my clothes on the line whenever possible. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-really-clean-your-dryer-lint-screen/596152/37 "2011-09-13T22:42:34Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Not with a brush and soap and water, but I do scrape it off with fingernails, not just peeling it clean. Yeah, I peel the lint off (nice thick pads!), but never scrub. I answered based on the title! ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-really-clean-your-dryer-lint-screen/596152/38 "2011-09-13T22:57:56Z")
I wash it with soap and water and let it air dry every once in a while. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-really-clean-your-dryer-lint-screen/596152/39 "2011-09-13T23:10:54Z")
My mother was suspicious of dryer sheets and banned their use in our house, claiming that they would harm the dryer in some secret way that only appliance marketers and paranoid hippies knew about. This was way back when they were first marketed in the US. We also live way out in the country and can’t use liquid fabric softener because it can foul up the septic system (or so our septic sucking service says), so we use softener sheets. Never washed the filter, just clean the lint out after every load and occasionally blow out the vent pipe, which passes from the original foundation through a crawlspace under part of our kitchen. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-really-clean-your-dryer-lint-screen/596152/40 "2011-09-14T00:17:02Z")
> [@Sparky\_the\_Wonder\_Spirit](#): > > Fabric softener is gross, and I’m not surprised that it causes build-up on the lint screen. But I hadn’t heard of it before now. This is exactly my response. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-really-clean-your-dryer-lint-screen/596152.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-really-clean-your-dryer-lint-screen/596152.md?page=3)