Dryer Vent Cleaning in Mountain View, CA

Frequently Asked Questions

My laundry is in the garage of a Monta Loma flat-roof house. Is the vent run short enough that it doesn't need cleaning?

Short runs still clog, just differently. In those 1950s-60s slab tracts the dryer usually sits against a garage or utility-closet wall and pushes straight out through a wall cap a few feet away, so lint doesn't have far to travel. Instead, the lint packs into the last foot and into the cap's louvers, where it meets outdoor air. A short run also tempts people to leave the transition hose crushed behind the dryer, which does more damage than the length of pipe ever would. We clean the run and the exterior cap, and check that the flex behind the machine isn't kinked against the wall.

Why do my loads take longer here than they used to?

Two things stack up in Mountain View. The marine layer off Shoreline and the bay marsh keeps morning air damp much of the year, so the dryer is exhausting moist air into more moist air and the cycle drags. On top of that, a partly blocked vent means the machine can't dump humidity fast enough, so it runs and runs. If your loads have crept longer over a season or two, the vent is usually the part you can fix. Damp air alone shouldn't take a clean, properly sized vent from a normal cycle to two runs.

What fails on vents around here?

Most often the exterior wall cap. Dry-season dust off the valley floor and grit from nearby construction settle on lint that's already stuck in the louvers, and it turns into a mat that won't blow open. We see flappers stuck part-open or gummed shut, and screened caps that should never have been installed on a dryer. Second most common is the transition hose behind the dryer, especially in garages where the machine gets shoved back against the wall. In the Eichler-type radiant-slab homes, the bigger issue is that there's no attic and no slab routing to work with, so whatever short path exists has to stay clear because there's no alternative route.

What drives the cost up or down on a Mountain View home?

The straightforward wall runs in the older ranch and Monta Loma/Rex Manor tracts are on the simpler end because we can reach both ends easily. What adds to it: a stacked unit in an interior condo or townhome closet along El Camino, Castro Street or North Bayshore, where the machine has to come out of a tight closet and the run may travel through a wall or ceiling chase to reach an exterior face. Podium buildings sometimes put the termination somewhere that needs a second access point. A cap that's damaged or is the wrong screened type is a parts item on top of the cleaning. We tell you which situation you're in before we start.