Manual cleaning when needed, or change the exhaust hood or guard to something more accommodating.

No dryer filter catches 100% of the lint output. The filter would quickly clog and impair the airflow, requiring cleaning during the cycle run.

Earlier this year we bought a dryer vent cleaning kit from Amazon. Our dryer vent run is about 16 feet. It used to vent straight out the back of the dryer but when we added a 24x26 cowboy den we had to reroute the dryer vent. That was 20 years ago. Vent run was a lot cleaner than I thought it would be. He used a leaf blower after using the cleaning kit. My husband said he wanted it more as a preventative. Our vent has a flap over the end of it to keep critters and other unwanted vermin out. I remember he had to manually remove some lint where it exits the house.

Take your hand and wipe the lint from the flap.... if not it will prop the flap open and allow things like mice to enter.

@georgect the vent is above the first floor and is covered with a plastic mesh. Maybe louvered is the way to go!

Lint accumulates on the louvers and prevents them from closing properly. I replaced a louvered one because of that.

Replaced with a Lambro vent seal

Big & ugly but does a very good job of sealing the vent when not in use. My laundry room is much warmer during the winter because it does a good job of sealing off the cold air from entering the venting. Big factor since I live in Wisconsin w/ long cold winters.

My house had the louvered-type of hood. It flapped and chattered in a norther and there was cold air leakage into the dryer. I changed it to the type that ci_lantro pictures above, much better. It does need occasional cleaning of lint accumulation ... note the little latch on front, the top opens for access. It also should be painted (typically to match or contrast with the house's trim) to protect against deterioration of the plastic from UV exposure.

Yes, like Dadoes said, that Lambro vent should be painted. IIRC, the instructions that came with it recommended painting to protect from UV degradation.

As far as needing to clean it, IME, not anywhere near as often as my old louvered cover needed cleaning. Just checked it yesterday, as a matter of fact. Cleaning is needed aesthetically for the most part. I've not had a problem with lint accumulation (not much) interfering with it functionally. But I do a lot less laundry now than I did when there were teenagers/ hockey players around so YMMV in that respect.