Rooftop Dryer Vent Cleaning

How to clean a dryer vent from the roof

Our techs are skilled and equipped to navigate the most challenging roofs safely and deliver outstanding results every time.

Before beginning the cleaning, the technician runs the dryer on air-only, checking to make sure the machine is working properly, that all connections are secure, and that there’s no air loss or disconnects anywhere behind the dryer.

On the rooftop, he checks the vent itself for proper air flow. If the vent line is clogged, air flow would be severely diminished.

He inserts a spinning, reverse-blowing air ball, attached to an air line, down the vertical duct through the vent line to the back of the dryer itself.

Using a long-handled air trigger, he cleans the hood and damper portions of the exhaust. The inner hood and the area around the damper tend to become clogged with lint that has been hardened from exposure to summer heat and winter cold.

He’ll then engage the tool he previously inserted into the vent line, pulling and pushing it up and down the vent line, while its air nozzles blast lint out toward the vent opening. This process is repeated until no more lint is expelled and the tech is able to observe good air flow pushing through the vent.

No substitute for the real thing

It should be noted that it is nearly impossible to thoroughly clean a dryer vent on the roof from anywhere other than the roof itself.

If attempted from down below, or from the attic, cleaning can be partially accomplished and sometimes even decent air flow can be achieved. However, the cleaning cannot possibly be complete or as thorough using this method as from the rooftop. Why? Because you cannot get around the damper from behind it.

In fact, cleaning a rooftop dryer duct from down below can easily make the situation worse, by pushing all the debris up toward the damper without being able to completely push it out, causing a more stubborn clog.

Dryer vent hoods before and after cleaning. — The inner area of the dryer vent hood and around the damper tend to become clogged with lint that has been hardened from exposure to the elements.

Technician holding a screen removed from a rooftop dryer vent — Our technicians routinely discover screens covering the exhaust of dryer vents, a dangerous practice and a code violation.

Hidden danger: rooftop dryer vent screens

One of the most common reasons our techs find for a clogged dryer vent on the roof is one that should never happen: screens left over the dryer vent after installation. Though screening is common over chimneys, furnace flues, bathroom exhausts, etc., for the purpose of keeping animals out, it is a code violation (IRC M1502.3) to have screening over a dryer vent. Why? Because in addition to exhausting moisture and heat, dryer vents exhaust small bits of lint. The moisture exhausted acts as a glue that adheres the lint to the screen, and, over time, the holes in the screen become completely choked with lint, cutting off air flow and creating an extreme fire hazard.

To prevent animal entry, your dryer vent hood should have a louvered flap that swings open when the airflow from the dryer opens it and then falls back into the closed position when the airflow ceases. If the vent does not have this feature, it should be replaced.

video demo: rooftop dryer vent cleaning

The process of cleaning a dryer vent from the roof is more risky and laborious than a typical ground-level vent. Our technicians have the necessary skill and equipment to negotiate the most challenging rooftops and deliver the same outstanding results every time.

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