Huxley sits in southern Story County along US-69, between Ankeny and Ames, and it’s full of families. Where there are kids, sports uniforms and towels, there’s a dryer running most days of the week. Top Notch Chimney Sweep & Services is family owned and operated, and we’ve been cleaning dryer vents and chimneys across Central Iowa since 2002.
The Lint Trap Doesn’t Catch It All
Cleaning the lint screen after every load is a good habit, but some lint always gets past it. That lint settles along the walls of the vent duct, collects at bends and builds up at the outside hood. The more loads you run, the faster it happens. A household doing a load or two a day can fill a vent far sooner than a couple doing laundry once a week.
Why a Clogged Vent Is a Problem
Fire risk
A dryer produces a lot of heat, and lint burns easily. When the vent is restricted, the dryer runs hotter and longer, which is how dryer fires start.
Carbon monoxide
Gas dryers produce carbon monoxide. A clear vent carries it outside. A blocked vent can let it back into the house.
Wasted time and energy
A restricted dryer works harder for every load, so you pay more on the energy bill and wear the machine out sooner.
Signs Your Vent Needs Attention
- Clothes need more than one cycle to dry
- The dryer or the clothes are very hot to the touch
- You smell something burning when the dryer runs
- The flap on the outside vent barely opens
How We Clean It
Our certified dryer vent cleaning clears the full run from the dryer to the outside. We use a powerful HEPA vacuum to contain the lint we loosen and check the duct for damage or poor connections along the way.
Chimney Care While We’re There
If your home has a fireplace, the same visit can include a chimney sweeping. For gas fireplaces, we offer gas log service to check the burner, logs and venting. And if dust is a concern in a busy house, ask about air duct cleaning.
Gas and Electric Dryers Both Need a Clear Vent
People sometimes assume an electric dryer is the safe one. It doesn’t make carbon monoxide, so that part is true. But it still produces plenty of heat, and lint packed into the vent burns just as easily behind an electric machine as behind a gas one. A gas dryer adds the carbon monoxide risk on top of the fire risk, because its exhaust leaves the house through that same lint-filled duct.
Either way, the vent needs to be clear from the back of the dryer to the hood outside. A dryer vent check once a year is a good rule, and a household running laundry every day may need cleanings more often than that.
What a Clean Vent Saves You
A clean dryer can use up to 50% less energy than one pushing against a clogged vent. That adds up quickly in a Huxley household running loads most days of the week. Shorter drying times also mean less wear on the heating element, the drum bearings and the belt, so the dryer itself tends to last longer.
There’s a time savings too. When a load dries in one cycle instead of two, laundry day stops eating the whole evening.
Moving Into a New-to-You House
If you’ve bought a home in Huxley recently, you probably have no idea when the dryer vent was last cleaned. It may never have been. The same goes for the chimney. A previous owner who burned wood for years can leave a flue lined with creosote, and one who never used the fireplace may have left an animal nest sitting in it.
Starting fresh with a dryer vent cleaning and a chimney inspection gives you a clean slate and a clear picture of both systems. If we find damaged vent sections or a chimney that needs repair, you’ll hear about it early instead of in the middle of winter.
Signs the Fireplace Needs a Call
Busy families don’t always have time to think about the fireplace until something seems off. These are worth paying attention to:
- Smoke backing up into the room on a fire that used to draw fine
- Rust on the damper or flakes of rust falling into the firebox
- Scratching or chirping noises from inside the chimney
- Bricks on the outside of the chimney that are chipping or flaking
- A cap that’s missing, bent or sitting crooked
A missing or damaged cap is one of the easiest fixes we make. Our stainless steel chimney caps are backed by a lifetime warranty when we install them.
Kids, Pets and the Hearth
A home full of kids and pets puts more traffic near the fireplace. Glass doors and the surround of a gas unit get very hot, and young children don’t always know to keep their hands off. A safety screen or gate in front of the hearth is worth the small hassle. Keep toys, blankets and pet beds a few feet back from the firebox when it’s in use.
Pets bring something else to think about: hair. Dog and cat hair ends up in the dryer, in the lint screen and in the vent, and it adds to the buildup. If your Huxley household includes a shedding dog or two, the vent will likely need attention sooner.
One Visit for Both Jobs
Between work, school and practices, finding a free afternoon is hard enough once a year. That’s why many Huxley families book the dryer vent and the chimney together. The same crew handles both, the drop cloths only go down once, and you only have to plan around one appointment.
If you can, aim for our off-season, April through August. The schedule is more open, and you’ll have the fireplace ready long before the first cold weekend. Once fall arrives, urgent calls fill the calendar quickly.
One more thought before you shop for a new dryer: a machine that seems to be failing is often fine. When drying times creep up, the clogged duct behind it is the usual cause, and a new dryer hooked to the same vent will struggle just as much.
A Family Business
Our owner, Tom Hunkele, is a Past President of the National Chimney Sweep Guild. Our team includes a Certified Chimney Professional and a CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep, and we keep your home clean while we work.
Where the dryer sits matters too. Laundry rooms on a second floor or in the middle of the house often have long vent runs with several turns, and those trap more lint. Flexible foil or plastic duct behind the dryer can crush and sag, which makes things worse. If we see a connection that’s restricting airflow, we’ll point it out.
We also serve Ames and Ankeny.
Dryer taking forever? Call (515) 249-6337 or schedule a cleaning online.
