In a lot of older Urbandale homes the washer and dryer live in the basement. The dryer vent runs along the ceiling joists, sometimes across most of the basement, and exits through a rim joist or a window well. Over the years dryers get replaced, the basement gets finished, and the vent gets patched or extended each time. By now it might be a mix of rigid pipe, flexible hose and tape.
Top Notch Chimney Sweep & Services is a family owned company and has served Central Iowa since 2002. Our technicians are certified in dryer vent cleaning, and older basement vent systems are familiar territory for us.
Watch Out for Plastic and Foil Hose
Many older laundry setups use flexible white plastic or thin foil accordion hose to connect the dryer to the vent. The ridges in that hose catch lint, it crushes easily behind the dryer, and plastic hose is not made to handle dryer heat. Safety organizations recommend rigid or semi-rigid metal duct for dryer venting. If we find plastic or foil hose on your dryer, we’ll point it out.
Where Lint Hides in a Basement Run
- Sags in long horizontal sections, where lint settles and moisture can collect
- Joints that were taped instead of properly connected
- Sections that run above a finished ceiling where nobody can see them
- The exterior hood, especially if it sits low in a window well
Lint also builds up when you clear the lint trap after every load. The trap catches most of it, not all of it. What gets past the screen travels into the vent, and in a long basement run it has plenty of places to settle.
Why Cleaning Matters
A clogged vent makes the dryer run longer and hotter, which costs you energy and wears the machine out. It’s also a fire hazard: the National Fire Protection Association reports that clothes dryers are a leading cause of home laundry fires, and failure to clean them is a leading factor. Gas dryers produce carbon monoxide, and a blocked vent can keep it from leaving the house.
What Happens on Cleaning Day
We inspect the vent system for damage and causes of poor airflow. Then we connect a powerful HEPA vacuum so loosened lint goes into our equipment and not onto your basement floor. Specialized brushes run through the whole line to break lint loose. We check the outside end for animals and nesting material, which we find more often than you’d expect in low vents. More information is on our main dryer vent cleaning page.
Older Homes Have More to Check
If your basement ductwork has been in place for decades, air duct cleaning in Urbandale is easy to add while we’re there. And if your home has a masonry chimney, now’s a good time to ask about minor masonry repairs before cracked mortar lets water in.
Our Urbandale service area page lists everything else we do in town.
Ready to clear that basement vent? Call (515) 249-6337 or book online.
