Tumble dryer deep clean

Every tumble dryer cycle sheds lint. The filter catches some of it; the rest works its way into the ducting, the fan housing, the condenser and the casing, where it packs down over months and years into a dense mat you cannot see and cannot reach.

That matters for two reasons. Lint is dry, fibrous and sits directly against the heater — it is the reason tumble dryers are one of the most common causes of house fires started by an appliance. And a machine choked with lint cannot move air properly, so it runs longer and hotter to dry the same load, costing more to run and wearing out the heater, the thermostats and the drum bearings sooner.

A deep clean means the machine comes apart. We strip it down, clear the ducting, the fan, the condenser and the heater housing, vacuum the casing out, check the seals and the thermostats while we are in there, and reassemble and test it on a full cycle.

Once a year is the sensible interval for a machine in regular use — more often if the household dries several loads a week, if the dryer lives in a garage or utility room where it picks up dust, or if it dries a lot of towels and bedding.

What the job includes

• Machine stripped down, not just the filter housing
• Ducting, fan housing and condenser cleared
• Heater and thermostat area cleaned and checked
• Casing vacuumed out
• Seals inspected
• Reassembled and tested on a full cycle