Things that should be in the manual that comes with a home

[mithriltabby]

When you have a washer-dryer hookup, the dryer has an exhaust vent to the outdoors. On a quarterly basis, it is important to clear this vent of accumulated lint using a brush mounted on a flexible rod that can be spun by an electric drill. (Keywords “dryer vent cleaning kit”, cost about $25.) If the lint is allowed to back up, it can cause a fire.

We apparently managed to avoid the “cause a fire” outcome because another side effect of clogging the vent is that the pressure from the dryer can cause the tube connecting the dryer to the exhaust vent to be pushed off the dryer, thus venting the dryer’s heat and lint into the house, creating a carpet under the dryer that makes the most hideous shag rug from the 1970s look attractive by comparison. You can prevent that outcome with a $2 hose clamp.