Dryer Vent Cleaning

Dryer vents are a overlooked dangerous portion of the home that I again seen first hand this week. I was called out to clean a fireplace chimney that is one of the main sources of heat for this home during the winter months, and has not been cleaned in two years. Luckily this is a completely sealed firebox and the client burns only a nice hard wood. The chimney was very dirty and done just in time to possibly prevent a serious fire hazard to this home.

I was only called to clean the fireplace but I must have been feeling generous and told the customer that I would clean the dryer vent at no charge to them. I proceeded outside after asking the customer to turn on their dryer so that I could check current air flow before cleaning. When I leaned down to check the air flow I found none at all and at first thought I had the wrong vent, but I didn’t and had the proof when I inserted the Viper Cleaning system just inside the venting and got a lot of lint from the first portion of the venting pipe.

I decided to go downstairs and have a look at the venting that was concealed above a drop ceiling and I am so glad that I did. This home was ready the ignite. The venting was separated about ten feet from the outside wall and all the lint was building up in the space between the ceiling and the drop ceiling and the electrical panel was filled with lint including covering low voltage transformers.

I had the customer start cleaning the lint from around the ceiling and the electrical panel area and I re-connected the dryer venting and proceeded to clean the dryer system. This system was over twenty feet long with four elbows and had never been cleaned as long as the customer can remember. A dryer vent setup like this should be cleaned every six months to a year and the savings in electrical costs will pay for the service fee within a few months, not to mention the piece of mind.

If you can’t remember when the last time you had your dryer vent cleaned then it is time!

Take our quick quiz here to see how often you should have your dryer venting cleaned. For all your dryer vent and chimney cleaning services in Fort McMurray Alberta call A-1 Ductworks at 780-598-5966.