I finally figured out why my laundry room smelled like a swamp

Honestly, I thought it was just the humidity from the dryer. For like 6 months I was running the machine and everything came out fine but the whole room just had this musty smell. Then last week I pulled the lint trap out and noticed this thick, wet, grey gunk all around the edges. Tbh I never even looked at the seal or the vent hose before. I pulled the dryer out and saw the hose was completely clogged with years of lint and some kind of slimy buildup. I cleaned it all out and now the room actually smells fresh. Has anyone else ever ignored a weird smell and found out it was something way worse than they thought?

3 comments

3 Comments

mia7001d ago

Oh yeah @max_torres44 is totally right, that's no joke.

max_torres441d ago

Wait till you hear what happens when that clog gets bad enough. In my experience, the real danger isn't just the smell or slow drying. A fully blocked vent can actually cause the dryer to overheat and start a fire inside the machine. I've seen it happen to a buddy of mine, his dryer's thermal fuse blew and the plastic housing on the heating element was actually melted. Good thing he caught it before it got any worse. So yeah, you might have dodged a real bullet even if it just looked like some lint and slime to everyone else. Take this with a grain of salt but that "simple maintenance" thing can turn into a whole new dryer real quick.

joel_jones1d ago

Way worse than they thought"? I mean, a clogged vent hose is annoying and can make your clothes not dry right, but let's not act like you found mold growing in your lungs or something. It's lint and some moisture buildup, that's pretty standard stuff. I've pulled out dryer vents that looked like a small animal moved in and everything was fine after a quick clean. Unless you're smelling smoke or seeing actual water damage, it's usually just a maintenance thing. Did you actually notice any damage to the machine or was it just the smell bothering you?