Consumer Reports says on average, more than 13,000 fires start in laundry rooms each year in the country. They cause nearly $100 million in damage and result in at least 10 deaths.

In most cases, these fires are easy to prevent. All it takes is a brush and a vacuum.

You can clean the lint filter after every load, as you should, and still have a problem in the ducts leading to the vents. That's why you've got to make sure you have the proper type of venting.

"Solid metal ducts are best for dryer venting, though semi-rigid metal is okay," said Celia Kuperszmid Lehrman, a senior editor at Consumer Reports.

"The ones you really want to avoid are the coiled wire foil or plastic ones because those can sag and lint can build up in them and the lint buildup is the concern for the fires."

According to the safety experts at Underwriters Labs, people aren't cleaning lint traps as often as they should and they're not checking and cleaning vent systems on a periodic basis.

When I saw the lint buildup on the side of my house, I knew something had to be done. So I called Roger McColley, who runs a company called Your Handicraftsman, and told him to have at it.

The first order of business: disconnect the old collapsible aluminum hose. Then you clean out the vent that runs about 11 feet from the outside vent to the dryer.

It's a rigid metal duct, but it can still catch a good deal of lint.

Since I had a professional on the job, I decided to install a solid duct from the dryer to the wall.

"Although this is foil ducting and doesn't combust, because of the softness of it, it's easy to collapse," McColley said. "And if you push your dryer back too far, you can crunch it down and cause even more buildup of lint."

A new rigid duct won't have this problem. And it will reduce the chance of a fire and make the dryer run more efficiently.

"If you have a cleaner vent, you're getting better air flow out of it and you're getting the clothes dried quicker because the moisture is leaving quicker," said McColley.

One more thing to do: once a month remove the lint trap and get down inside the dryer to remove all the lint that's hiding in there. You can get a brush for the job at any hardware store.

More Information:

Prevent a dryer fire at your home

Watch: Dryer Fire Caution

UL: Clean those lint traps