Many folks don't even know that dryer vents need cleaning...

If your dryer sits on an outside wall it is probably less than 18 inches long and if lint builds up you can easily remove it yourself. In today's architecture however the laundry room often sits far away from an exterior wall and must be run many feet to exit the living area.

We often get calls from customers who have had a service man out to "fix" the clothes dryer. Many times they find that the dryer is fine, the vent is just not letting the air flow to the outside. Often the vent is restricted by 50% or more. A load of clothes should take no more than 45-60 minutes to dry depending on the type of clothes being dried.

We have the capability to run our brushes for 35 or more feet even through elbows. Our flexible rods are attached to fine wire brushes. The rods are in turn attached to a cordless drill with a clutch to keep from damaging either the equipment or the vent.

The dryer is running on a low heat setting at the time we thoroughly scrub the vent. The pressure of the dryer helps to bring out the lint. Sometimes we can get a fair sized garbage full of the stuff.

Of course if the dryer vent is composed of the wrong material we cannot clean it. We run the risk of tearing up the whole system, and it is very unsafe for the customer to use it any longer. Wrong and dangerous material include any kind of flexible duct in areas other in the wash room from the dryer to the mouth of the vent.

The proper material is 4 inch galvanized duct, with as few elbows as possible and as short as possible. This is why they invented duct tape. Screws are not permitted by code [yes there actually is a building code for dryer vents]. Screws will catch lint. At the same time the vent should be installed male end out for the same reason. We often can cut down the actual run of the vent by going straight up through the roof.

So if you are taking longer and longer to dry a load of clothes give us a call. Many times it is cheaper than calling a repair man. If we can't clean it we don't charge you. We can give you suggestions about what to do and even give you a free estimate if it is determined that it should be rebuilt.