Dryer Vent Cleaning Services
When lint clogs a dryer duct, you are at risk for a home or business fire. Sadly, there are over 15,000 dryer-related fires each year. Dryer vent cleaning helps to prevent costly fires, reduce dryer downtime—and keep your building’s dryer system functioning properly.
Duct Dudes’ dryer vent cleaning service is a cost-effective way to protect the health and safety of building residents. During our service, we remove lint, birds’ nests, small articles of clothing and more from dryer vents in houses, beauty salons, hotels, multi-family living structures and other establishments. Duct Dudes uses high-powered vacuum trucks to clean dryer vents, as well as furnaces, heaters, air ducts and HVAC systems.
Why Duct Dudes? Because many companies offer dryer vent cleaning, but do not clean the full length of the dryer vent run. Duct Dudes ensures that the full length of the dryer vent is clean when we leave your property. This may entail cutting additional access points to the dryer vent from the attic, basement—or where ever the dryer vent routes through your home or business.
Dryer Vent Cleaning Benefits
If your clothes are taking more than one cycle to dry, or your dryer becomes hot to the touch, you may have a buildup of lint and debris in your ductwork. Lint buildup catches water vapor, preventing heat from properly venting outdoors. This is a serious problem that could burn out your dryer or cause a fire.
Benefits of routine dryer vent cleaning includes:
- Reduced risk of dryer vent-related fires
- Lower energy bills
- Faster drying
- Increased dryer lifespan and reduced need for maintenance
To ensure the safety of your family, tenants, personnel and guests, Duct Dudes develops a dryer vent maintenance schedule tailored to your structure and ducting type. To schedule an on-site consultation, call or email our team today.
Seeing is Believing
To see how much lint your small, six-foot residential dryer vent can hold, watch our videos or view the following link to a presentation that was aired on ABC News Channel 4.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vixNauSDz4
Dryer Vent Safety Tips
Duct Dudes offer the information below as a courtesy. Information was gathered from the Chimney Safety Institute of America and the standards currently published as the International Mechanical Code (IMC). Please consult the Owner’s Manual of your clothes dryer for additional information and for cautions that may be specific to your region or to your appliance.
- Independence: Dryer exhaust systems should be independent of all other venting systems. Clothes dryer exhaust must not be connected to a gas vent connector, a gas vent or a chimney. Clothes dryers should only be connected to ductwork designed specifically for exhausting that particular appliance.
- Two Duct Systems: Most clothes dryers actually have two separate ducts or duct systems. One is called the connector or transition duct. This is the short (8’ or less in length) duct that normally connects the exhaust vent of the dryer to an opening in a nearby wall. This wall opening is the entry point for the second duct or duct system, called the main duct, which is often concealed inside walls, ceiling or attic spaces, and must lead always and only to outside air.
- Connections: The connector duct must be secured to the dryer and to the wall opening using heat-resistant metal tape. It should not be fastened with screws, rivets or any fasteners that protrude into the interior of the duct. Protrusions into the duct cause turbulence in the airflow and collect lint, reducing the efficiency of the duct system. The main dryer duct, at the point at which it connects to outside air, must have an exhaust hood with a self-closing damper to prevent backdraft and entry of small animals.
- Size: Both the connector duct and the main duct must be a minimum of 4” in diameter. A one-half-inch buildup of lint in a 4” diameter duct reduces its efficiency by 44%. The length of the connector duct must not exceed eight feet. The length of the main duct must not exceed 25 feet (note: for each forty-five degree bend, add 2 ½ feet to the total duct length, and for each ninety-degree bend, add 5 feet to the total duct length).
- Materials: Both connector and main ducts must be metal (either rigid or flexible) and be thick enough, minimum 28 gauge, to be non-combustible. Metal foil does not qualify and can be easily ignited. Plastic, of course, is a distinct fire hazard and must never be used in either duct.
- Important Tip: Do not store your fire extinguisher on top or around your dryer. You will not be able to get to it in the event of a dryer fire.
Schedule Your Dryer Vent Cleaning Today
To learn more about the importance of dryer duct cleaning, visit the Chimney Safety Institute of America. To schedule your residential or commercial dryer cleaning service, email our team or call 866-DUDE-911 today.