This is the post in response to multiple demands from our customers to clean filter compartment inside of the clothes dryer machine. This service is usually not a part of our dryer vent cleaning process, but we're always happy to help and if our tech has tools on-site, he/she would gladly clean this compartment for you.
Our dryer vent cleaning is recommended every 1 to 2 years and cleaning of the actual dryer filter is recommended after every drying cycle. The need to clean inside of the filter compartment may arise every month and that is why we decided to explain our customers that there is an easy and not expensive solution to do it, we call it Lint Lizard)) but you can call it whatever you like as there are so many almost look-alike items offered on Amazon or other websites like Walmart, and it is up to you what tool and brand to choose. We will focus our attention on Lint Lizard just to show you how this product works.
Lint Lizard was an innovation that showed up on the market around 2013 and it is a simple solution for a pretty serious issue. Lint Lizard consists of two parts, an attachment for any household vacuum and the hose - one end to the attachment and the opposite end goes into the filter compartment where it picks up all the lint. At the moment, there are many alternatives to Lint Lizard that could be found online, but it is just easy to start your google search with the phrase Lint Lizard and then explore your options. We do not promote Lint Lizard and this name is used just to make your search easy and fast. As far as we know, among all these look-alike products, the only product that was tested by "Consumer Reports" is actually Lint Lizard and this is what their report says
Consumer Reports magazine: January 2013
Claim Check: Lint Lizard
Can a $10 "magic wand" make clothes dryer lint disappear? The claim. "It's like a magic wand!" says the website for Lint Lizard, a clear, flexible tube designed to suck up dryer lint, which can cause a fire if too much accumulates. You thread one end of the tube through the dryer's lint-trap opening and attach the other end to your vacuum cleaner. Lint Lizard cost us $10.99 plus shipping.
The check. In one dryer, we collected and weighed the lint removed by each of three methods we tried in succession. First we took apart ductwork and removed lint by reaching into nooks and crannies with our hands. Then we used a vacuum cleaner and crevice tool. Then we used the Lint Lizard. In a second dryer, we simply compared the amount of lint collected by a vacuum cleaner plus crevice tool with the haul collected by Lint Lizard. Bottom line. It's almost like a magic wand! Our reaching hands removed 8 grams of lint; a vacuum cleaner and crevice tool managed to suck up another 4 grams. And the Lint Lizard? Another 15 grams. In the second dryer, a crevice tool and vacuum cleaner removed just 0.3 grams of lint, after which Lint Lizard gulped 52 grams. Drawbacks: The Lizard's sharply angled tip and curved hose made it miss a bit of lint in some nooks and on some surfaces, and it may not fit into very narrow openings in some dryers. Its sharp tip could also harm plastic ductwork (but it's best to have metal dryer ducts).
Based on this "Consumer Reports" article we bought our first Lint Lizard in 2013 and start to use it almost every day, helping out our customers. There are several versions of this product and not all of them work good, some hoses are not flexible enough and we are not able to clean corners or tight spaces sometimes, some hoses are too flexible and bend and that makes it impossible to go deep into the compartment itself. Some of the hoses are round, some are oval and there are other shapes on the market. Lift up your filter and check what hose would be your best pick and then make a purchase.
Do not forget, that there is an old proven way to clean lint trap dryer compartment using a special plolonged or protracted brush. Insert brush and use back&forth hand moving to agitate lint inside and then pull the brush out along with lint on it. Clear brush and repeat if needed. We recommend to use both methods of cleaning (brush and vacuum), start with brushing and finish with vacuum. So of vacuum attachments and hoses has this brush included in its kit, so maybe there won't be any need to pay extra
After the cleaning is done, please make sure that you filter fits perfectly inside of your filter compartment. It should not poke out or be uneven with the frame pattern.
We hope that this post will help you find the right product to clean you dryer filter compartment and keep your dryer machine safe and clean.