Thinking of adding a new porch, deck or patio to your home to enjoy these wonderful summer days and evenings? The deck furniture you plan to purchase and the landscaping are not the only considerations that need to be taken into account before you start the project.

David McCall, of Mr. Appliance of Southern Clark County in Washington (www.mrappliance.com/scc), found that there are other, more practical things, that need to be incorporated into the blueprints for your new outdoor paradise.

David was recently called by a customer with a dryer problem. The customer reported that she had to run loads through the dry cycle several times before her clothes were completely dry. Upon inspecting the dryer and running some basic tests, he was able to determine that the dryer was in perfect running order. The problem turned out to be a plugged or restricted dryer vent.

In this particular case, the problem was the end cap of the duct pipe where it exits the house. This would normally be a relatively simple fix. However, this time the end cap was located just below their beautiful new deck and there was no access to the end cap.

The deck was too close to ground level for anyone to crawl under it. Now the owners are faced with a tough decision of how to gain access to that end cap so that the restriction can be removed. Should they pull up the planks on their new deck and possibly split one of the boards? Should they cut the boards and fashion some sort of removable access? And would that be large enough for someone to crawl through to gain access and work to fix the end cap? The customer is still deciding what will be the best solution for their situation. In the meantime, our home owner is making new friends down at the Laundromat.

David suggests that if you’re planning a new addition to first locate the dryer vent cap, as well as other important areas where you may need future access for repairs or routine maintenance. For example, don’t build your deck over the air conditioning unit – it needs plenty of circulation around it to work properly.

Dryer vents should be routinely cleaned (we recommend at least once a year), so access to it is very important. A clean vent from your dyer to the outside of your home is essential for your dryer to run efficiently. It will use less electricity or gas (depending on the power source); your clothes will dry in less time and last longer; and keeping the vents clean will extend the life of your dryer with fewer repairs.