Dryer Vent Cleaning in Lafayette, CA

Frequently Asked Questions

1. My laundry room is in the middle of the house, so where does the vent actually go?

   In most Lafayette homes (the 1950s-70s ranches, split-levels and the subdivisions that followed) the laundry room was placed away from exterior walls, so the duct has to travel to get out. That usually means a long horizontal run through the attic or crawlspace, often 25 feet or more with several elbows, or a vertical run up to a cap on the roof. We trace the full path before we start, because cleaning only what's reachable from behind the dryer leaves most of the lint where it is. On a roof-terminated run, the only way to do it right is to work the duct from both ends, including getting up to the cap.

2. What actually fails on these vents around here?

   Two things, mostly. First, the long runs with multiple elbows: every elbow is a place lint slows down and packs, and a 25-foot-plus duct with three or four turns collects far more than a short wall stub ever would. Second, roof caps. A termination on the roof invites birds and rodents, and we pull nesting material out of Lafayette roof caps regularly. Add the outdoor load, oak and grass pollen in spring, dry summer dust, wildfire ash in late season, and screens and hood flaps blind over fast. A flap that can't swing is just as bad as a packed duct.