For most households, once a year is the right schedule. That keeps lint from building to the point where the dryer runs hot and drying times stretch out, and it lines up with the fire-safety guidance you will hear from fire departments and manufacturers alike.
Annual cleaning works because lint accumulation is predictable. A typical household running a few loads a week sheds enough lint past the trap to start restricting a normal vent line in about a year. Clean it yearly and the line never gets to the dangerous stage.
Some homes need it more often. If you run several loads a day, have a large family, or own shedding pets, lint accumulates much faster. Pet hair is a real factor: it passes the trap easily, tangles with lint, and forms dense clogs faster than lint alone.
Vent design matters just as much as usage. Long vent runs, common in homes where the laundry room sits in the middle of the house, clog faster because lint catches on every bend. Vents with multiple turns, flexible ribbed ducting, or a roof termination instead of a wall cap all collect lint faster than a short, straight run through an exterior wall.
In those cases, every six to nine months is the safer schedule. The tell is always the same: drying times creeping up. When a load that used to dry in one cycle starts needing two, the vent is telling you it is time, regardless of what the calendar says.
Between cleanings, a few habits help. Clean the lint trap before every load, and wash the screen with soap and water every few months, because dryer-sheet residue coats the mesh and reduces airflow. Check the exterior vent hood occasionally to make sure the flap opens fully and nothing has nested in it. And never run the dryer while you are asleep or out of the house.
Not sure where you stand? We can check the airflow at your exterior vent and give you an honest answer about whether your vent needs cleaning now or can wait. Many of our customers bundle dryer vent cleaning with their duct cleaning every couple of years, which keeps both systems on one simple schedule.