The Zumwalt’s of Libertyville had just moved into their new home and had me check out their air conditioning systems and upgrade their thermostats. As I walked by the dryer vent flap, I noticed it was stuck open with clumps of lint in the hood. I recommended cleaning the dryer vent because of the potential fire hazard. I found the relatively short dryer vent run (15 feet) was plugged with lint and the dryer lint screen had a clear plastic film blocking the entire screen (Mrs. Zumwalt told me her bath mat backing was destroyed in the dryer earlier that day. She thought the dryer had gotten too hot and melted the backing, explaining how the film got on the dryer screen). I cleaned the dryer vent, filling a six gallon shop vacuum with all the lint in the pipe, and used a wire brush and a heavy duty cleaner to remove the plastic film. I ran the unit and tested for proper air flow.
Another client’s dryer caught on fire. The fire dept. determined lint in the clogged dryer vent was the cause.
As I worked nearby, I noticed discoloration on the water pipe on top of the water heater. This is a sign of a potentially dangerous problem; flue gases not going
Discolored pipe (on right) is a sign of troubled water heater
up the chimney and instead going into the home (see pictures). Mr. & Mrs. Zumwalt again agreed to for me to further investigate. I pulled the burner out of the water heater to find it was completely covered with debris, affecting how the burner worked. I also removed the flue pipe to inspect for any blockage. I found a bird in the pipe. I cleaned the entire water heater and removed the bird from the flue pipe. I reassembled and tested the water heater for proper operation and draft. Both now checked out good.
I followed up with Mr. & Mrs. Zumwalt a few days later. They commented how well the dryer now works and thanked me for keeping them, their children and their home safe.
Badly corroded water heater
Debris covered water heater burner
