Have you noticed more birds around building nests as the weather warms? Have you also noticed your dryer taking a longer time to dry loads? What’s the correlation between those two things? If your dryer stops working properly around this time of year, there’s a chance you have a bird’s nest hiding in your vents somewhere.
Why do bird’s build nests in dryer vents? There are several reasons birds find vents make for attractive homes - 1) they are far away from predators; 2) they are off the ground; 3) they protect from elements such as rain and 4) they are toasty warm. Admittedly, the vents do have a downside for birds - it’s possible for them to fall into the vent exhaust pipe where it’s hard for them to escape (particularly baby birds). But the pros far outweigh the cons for birds when it comes to making their homes in your dryer vents.
How can you tell that you have a bird’s nest in your vents other than just your dryer taking longer to dry? There are several signs to watch out for:
Scratching noises
Chirping from baby birds waiting on mom & dad
Foul odors (especially if a bird has died in your vents; you’ll be able to tell without a doubt)
The solution? Well, if you have live birds hanging about you’ll want to call critter control so they can safely remove them. If you were hearing scratching or chirping but no longer are, it’s likely the birds have moved out. Unfortunately, that means they’ve left a nest there and that nest is putting your home at risk for a fire (because straw and leaves and all the other bits’n’bobs birds use for their nests can easily be ignited by the heat of your vents). There’s also the matter of humidity from your vents spreading disease from the birds such as histoplasmosis (caused by a fungus found in bird droppings). If you think you had birds but they’re gone, you need to have your vents cleaned by a professional ASAP so can remove every last trace of the birds’ habitat.
Having birds playing house in your dryer vents isn’t ideal, so be on the lookout this season and don’t ignore the situation if you see any of the signs!
We're the experts for professional Northern NJ Dryer Vent Cleaning & repair! Give us a call at 201-345-0055 so Northern NJ Dryer Vent Wizard can help you save energy, time, and money. Some of the towns we service include: Bergen County, NJ Essex County, NJ Passaic County, NJ Morris County, NJ Ramsey, NJ and the surrounding NY Metro areas!
