Replacing Outside Vent Covers/ Hood from Clothes Dryers or Bathroom Vents

I have been in my home for 21 years now. Over the years, I have replaced a few things on the outside vents. Due to the sun wear or the heat coming out, the little plastic covers or "hoods" that are on the outside of the vents will get brittle and break.

My dryer vent is not in the sun but over time, the heat from the dyer makes the plastic flaps brittle and so I have purchased a new cover and just replaced the little flaps and left the outside vent cover on so it was super easy to replace.

A few years back, I had some workers come and vent the bathroom vents to the outside as when they built the house, they only vented them into the attic so for health reasons, I had them vent it to the outside. Those vents are directly in the sun for most of the day so they have only been in for a few years but as I was headed onto the roof to scrape and repaint the attic vent, I noticed that the plastic cover on one of the vent covers had a break in it and left a hole that a bird could fly in and make a nest. 

I had a friend that had a bird make a nest in her vent and a bird died due to the heat coming out and it was difficult to get the nest and bird out. Being spring / summer, that could happen so I went out and bought a new cover. 

I was hoping that I would be able to just replace the little flaps on the cover but within the week it took me to buy the new flap and get back up there, the corner had broken off as well so I had to replace the entire thing. It cost about $6 for the new cover and I purchased the "ACE" brand but laughed when I took it out of the bag and it was made by the same company that sells the name brand covers that I was replacing. I guess they make them for everyone and just market them for different companies. 

It took me a minute to figure out how to get the old cover off as I thought at first you just unscrewed it but then thought you had to push the little plastic tabs on the inside of the metal tube in, but in reality, you have to put a little screw driver inside between the plastic and metal and then pull the metal towards the inside of the tube and it will pull off the plastic releasing it to come out. 

Be careful taking off the little flaps in order to get to the tabs on the inside of the vent. You have to slightly bend the flaps towards the middle so that you can pull out the flaps. I have broken off the little tips that are at the top of the flaps to insert them into the cover so be aware that you need to be careful. 

I show it on my video, but since I was on the roof, I didn't know I would need a screwdriver so I used the paint can opening tool and it worked great to get into the space and pry the metal in and release the old broken cover. 

Hopefully the video will answer all your question and you will be able to replace yours if needed without problems, but if you do have a question, feel free to ask.... It was WELL worth doing to save me having a bird in my vents. I have had them make nests in my chimney and on my picture window frame in the past and I don't want to have to deal with the mess they make again. 

Have a Blessed Day!