Keep Your Hair Dryer Happy

Hair dryers are unique contraptions of heated wonderment. They come in a variety of sizes, shapes, colors, and price points. Just like Kitchen Aid’s trusty mixer collection, hair dryers can be purchased along with a treasure trove of accessories. For those of us who rely on our hair dryers to do their job at o’dark-thirty every morning, it’s important that we keep these unique contraptions in good order. That said, who tends to think about cleaning their hair dryer vent?! It’s not exactly at the top of the spring cleaning to do list. So how to keep your trusty hair appliance in great condition? Following are a few tips to consider:

1. Clean your hair dryer’s vent periodically. Most hair dryers have a vent opposite the “grill” area where the heat pours forth. These vents can become filled with lint over time, so look at your vent every so often and clean it out if need-be. Your hair dryer should have come with instructions on how to access the vent.  (As a rule, it’s super simple to pop off the vent cover). If you need guidance on how to remove your vent cover, perhaps you’ll find the instructions stored with your appliance manuals. (Gold star for you!) And if your manual went the way of spam sandwiches, hop online and see what information you can glean from the manufacturer’s website. As nerdy as this may sound, going forward you may find it helpful to put a monthly vent cleaning reminder on your e-calendar.

2. Remove hair product residue. Hair products can be gelatinous, sticky, smooth, and pudding-like. And some can smell like lemon meringue pie filling. (Love that!) Over time, hair product residue can seek shelter on hair dryer accessories. Whenever you have an extra sixty seconds (literally! that’s all you’ll need) and your hair dryer accessory is cool, wipe it with a damp, lint-free cloth. When cleaned with regularity residue build-up is minimal, thereby ensuring that clean-up time is minimal.

3. Organized cords are your friends. Whenever possible, stow your hair dryer with the cord wrapped in an organized fashion. This takes about 15 seconds every morning, and will save you several minutes down the road that you’d otherwise have to spend untangling the cord. If you notice your cord starting to  get tangled, straighten it out now. Later on, you’ll be glad you did.

Have any tips for keeping your hair dryer in good order? Share your ideas with us today!

* Photo by Tondo Susanto