Milwaukee AirTip vacuum accessories really saved the day today.
Okay, so I screwed up. I washed some new clothes and apparently there was at least one silica packet in the pant pockets.
I opened the dryer and I heard them scattering.
There were some in the drum, and some in a crevice behind the lint tray compartment.
I took the lint tray out, unscrewed its docking bracket, and started vacuuming. First I used a standard household crevice nozzle. It didn’t do much.
I grabbed my Milwaukee AirTip flexible hose nozzles plus an M18 Fuel Packout vacuum and FORGE 8Ah battery. All of these were past test samples – supplied by Milwaukee Tool at different times.
I switched between nozzle sizes a few times, and got the dryer vent clean. With a sense of accomplishment, I took everything outside and cleaned the dryer vent too.
I’ll need to do a deeper cleaning on the dryer vent, but that can wait. The nozzles helped me get lint, dust, and debris from all of the otherwise difficult to reach areas.
I doublechecked the dryer vent before reassembling it. Next, I’ll probably have to clean the washer link trap too.
The way this nozzle setup works, you have a multi-port attachment head that connects to small hoses such as on the Packout cordless vacuum, or larger hoses such as those bundled with wet/dry vacuums.
You then have separate flexible hose or tubing lengths that are attached to a bayonet-style bracket. Twist the bracket onto the vacuum hose adapter, and you’re ready to go.
The kit comes with a carrying bag (which is very convenient), vacuum hose attachment base, and 5 nozzles: 1/4″ x 1ft, 3/8″ x 1ft, 1/2″ x 1ft, 3/8″ x 2ft semi-rigid, 5/8″ x 2ft.
You can make something similar. This is easier, quicker, and more convenient.
I have a “detail vacuum” nozzle around here somewhere, which accomplishes the same in a less elegant manner. The Milwaukee AirTip works better.
While the AirTip nozzles have come in handy before, today’s cleanup task was perhaps the most difficult. Improvising would have greatly prolonged the cleanup task.
The twist-style quick-connect mount made it easy for me to test out different hose diameters as I moved to different areas of the dryer.
It wasn’t as crucial for cleaning the outside vent – the pivoting nozzle worked better for that. So why take that photo? Because I just wanted to get things done – I had other things I had to get to.
Not all of Milwaukee’s AirTip accessories are must-haves. But some like these have been indispensable with few feasible substites.
