Dryer Vent Cleaning, Replacement, & Rerouting

The CSIA recommends your dryer exhaust venting be inspected yearly and cleaned when needed by a Certified Dryer Exhaust Technician (C-DET) to cut down on needless clothes dryer/house fires and CO poisonings caused by bad venting.

Besides the potential for fire and CO poisoning, lint buildup can cause your drying cycle to double the time needed to dry your clothes, wasting natural gas and electricity.

Valley Chimney Sweep and Restoration has Certified Dryer Exhaust Technicians on staff to clean your dryer vents. We can also design and re-route dryer vents for efficiency and practicality.

After years of cleaning dryer vent exhausts, we are noticing a new building trend; longer, more convoluted vent runs with the wrong materials being used. This happens in both newer homes and house rehabs where the laundry was moved from the basement, first floor or on an outside wall location. Unfortunately, common sense and straight forward venting practices have been superceded by vanity and ‘ease of location” concerns.

Here are some tips to consider if you are moving your laundry room, if you are in the process of cleaning out the laundry room, or if you just purchased a home:

• All dryers must vent to the outside of the home
• Gas fired dryers can’t use plastic hose anywhere
• Shorter, direct vent runs are best for safety AND efficiency
• All types of dryers need lint filters and they need cleaning often
• Don’t use “fabric softeners” unless you plan on WASHING the lint filter after each cycle
• Birds can lift and open the plastic louvers of an outside vent termination to build their combustible obstructions (aka nests)
• Keep the laundry room door open during the drying cycle. Fresh air is needed for correct combustion and for draft air
• And for the technical dryer vent rules: Flexible, foil ducting can only be used to connect the dryer to the venting (in the same room as the dryer). All venting must be with 4″ diameter rigid metal venting. No flexible foil-type connector can be used in the inaccessible, hidden areas of the walls, attic or basement crawl spaces just because it’s easier to install than elbows and cut to fit pieces of 4″ rigid metal.

The spiraled wire interior is not insulated well, so it does not maximize dryer heat and lets out hot air. It also has a ribbed interior that disrupts the airflow and allows dryer lint to stick, further inhibiting the flow of air. The plastic tubing is a fire hazard and no longer permitted in building and construction.

A dryer vent rerouting or replacement requires complying with building code and International Residential Code (IRC) guidelines, and there are other governing agencies that take a strong stance on hiring a professional to do the job. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) have taken strong stances and created inspection criteria to make homes safer from dryer vent fires.