DRYER VENT CLEANING
In the United States, 98% of dryers operating in the common household are designed to vent warm air and the resulting condensation to the exterior of the building. Depending on the location of your laundry room, this vent pipe can be very short (6” to a 1’) or extremely long (25’ to 50’ +). As your dryer runs, it also pulls through small particles of clothing and dirt leading to a heavy buildup of lint along the inside of the vent pipe over time. The lint filter inside the dryer catches much of this lint, but after years of use, the pipe leading from the back of your dryer to the outside becomes coated and eventually clogged by a material similar to paper mache. Dryer vent cleaning is the act of removing this lint buildup in order to maintain or restore good airflow from the machine to the exterior.
Our Dryer Vent Cleaning ProcessOur goal is to ensure good airflow from the back of your dryer to the exterior of the building as well as to clean any exterior caps that can also restrict airflow. We accomplish this result by spinning a wire cleaning snake through the vent pipe while simultaneously generating airflow to release the broken down lint particles. We always clean from the interior in order to check your vent’s connection to the dryer as well as to make sure no lint is pushed back into the machine. We also verify airflow of the dryer vent system from the exterior, clean any activated flaps or louvres, and report on the overall efficiency of your dryer vent system.
If weak or absent airflow is detected after cleaning, our technicians can then troubleshoot any potential causes including broken vents, stuck internal dampers, improper screens, or unseen obstruction. Repairing broken dryer vents is an important part of maintaining your building and home value. |
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Special Equipment & Capabilities
In cases of hard to reach vents, VentMasters’ technicians are trained to safely move large machines as well as use tall ladders, boom lifts and rappelling equipment for high exits.
How Often Should You Clean Your Dryer Vent?
Imagine trying to breathe through your nose with your nostrils pinched shut. This is essentially what happens when “back-pressure” is created from a very dirty or clogged dryer vent. A poorly maintained dryer vent can cause the internal components of your machine to go haywire. Heating elements or fuses can burn out, belts can slip, or your dryer may simply bake your clothes dry like an oven over the course of multiple cycles. Meanwhile, if the vent is fully clogged, the resulting condensation has nowhere to escape and the vent pipe can fill with literal gallons of water over time.
Signs and symptoms that a vent cleaning is past due can include: clothes taking multiple cycles to dry, the top of your dryer growing hot to the touch, condensation remaining inside the dryer drum, a dryer shutting itself off before the clothes are dry, strange burning smells in the laundry room, or no detectable airflow at the exterior cap when the dryer is running.
For vents longer than a few feet that get regular use, VentMasters recommends an average cleaning cycle of 2 to 5 years. In cases of oddly shaped vents, pipes longer than 25 feet, or heavy usage situations such as large families, spas, salons, and animal clinics, vent cleaning may be an annual requirement or even monthly.
Even if you have used your dryer for years without issue, a single cleaning visit may reveal unseen problems such as a vent that ends in the crawlspace or attic, exposing these areas to lint and moisture.
Signs and symptoms that a vent cleaning is past due can include: clothes taking multiple cycles to dry, the top of your dryer growing hot to the touch, condensation remaining inside the dryer drum, a dryer shutting itself off before the clothes are dry, strange burning smells in the laundry room, or no detectable airflow at the exterior cap when the dryer is running.
For vents longer than a few feet that get regular use, VentMasters recommends an average cleaning cycle of 2 to 5 years. In cases of oddly shaped vents, pipes longer than 25 feet, or heavy usage situations such as large families, spas, salons, and animal clinics, vent cleaning may be an annual requirement or even monthly.
Even if you have used your dryer for years without issue, a single cleaning visit may reveal unseen problems such as a vent that ends in the crawlspace or attic, exposing these areas to lint and moisture.