Case Study: Dryer Vent Repair project in Catonsville, MD

Case Study Series: Catonsville Dryer Vent Cleaning project including Repair!

Here at Safe House, we've been professionally servicing Air Ducts, Dryer Vents, and HVAC systems for at least 20 years! Maryland is our home and the communities around are our lovely neighbors. Every now and then, our clients have an inkling that something is wrong with their Dryer Vent system, clothes may not dry right, there might be excess heat in certain locations, etc. We wanted to take the time to highlight a project handled spectacularly and on the fly on a great day!

During a routine Dryer Vent Cleaning appointment, Safe House technician Charles was on site at a home in Catonsville, MD. Just west of Baltimore! The standard cleaning commenced and Charles went to battle against the tyranny of the Dustball King lurking in the vent. He used his reliable Rotary Brush to begin and was making quick work of the lint and dust minions, they never stood a chance! After reclaiming about half of the southern vent territory back for the clean side, he noticed a breakage in which the Dust King must have been retreating to when the rotary brush was starting to get stuck. At this point we needed to deduce what could be the cause of this set back. Years of experience turned into an instant response of intuition and Charles took the initiative to mention his theory to the client, that it may be best and minimally intrusive to run a camera through the vent to find the cause of the issue!

Luckily for this neighbor of ours, our superstar Charles does it all! He offered to put in the extra work and cut into the sheetrock in order to replace and repair the vent so another contractor wouldn't be necessary, and all the work can be done the same day! When you're this good at what you do, you can really be a One-Handyman Army!! A short while later, the job is complete, the Dryer vent is repaired and restored to pristine condition! Air flow is immaculately efficient and our lovely client couldn't be happier! Thank you for all your hard work and expertise, Charles!!!

Why is a Dryer Vent So Important to be Cleaned and Repaired?

When you use your clothes dryer, the air inside it is pulled in and heated via electricity. The air is then circulated through your clothes to remove moisture and dry them. Then the exhaust fan pushes out the hot, moist air through your dryer’s vent.

This air travels through the dryer vent and out of your homes exhaust. If you did not have a functional dryer vent, then all that hot, moisture-laden air would stay inside your house, and that is dangerous. Hot moist air leads to the growth of mold as well as rot, and makes your air conditioning system work harder (skyrocketing your electricity bills!).

Cleaning the Dryer Vent

Here is what we do to ensure that your dryer vent is also cleaned perfectly:

First we unplug the dryer vent. The duct that is closest to the dryer is the first to be disconnect. Once this is done, the first part of the duct is pulled away and the opening of the duct inside the wall is exposed. The lint trap housing and the duct segments have to first be cleaned with a Rotary Brush. Each of the sections of the dryer vent have to be cleaned. This is where many DIY efforts fail. A rigorous brushing of the duct segments can end up damaging them. The cleaning has to be done diligently and carefully. This is not as easy as it sounds, since the lint will be stuck to the inner walls of the duct segments.
The rotary brushes that you get in hardware stores will work fine if you have a shorter dryer vent with no curves or turns. Today, however, many homes have long vents since their dryers are placed in attics, bathrooms, or other places where a long vent is needed to ensure that the duct expels the hot air outside the house. Which means the small rotary cleaning brush you get off the shelves, even when it has flexible segments to make its handle longer, won’t do the job effectively. Which is why dryer vent hose cleaning is done with professionally customized equipment to tackle these longer vents with bends.

Dryer vent cleaning is the most important way to prevent dryer fires in your home. Even if you carry out regular cleaning yourself, it is always best to call in professionals like Safe House and Charles to do a thorough job.