Dryer Vent Replacement in Manhattan Beach, CA

When replacing the duct beats cleaning it again

Towels come out damp. Two cycles, sometimes three. The laundry room gets hot, and lint shows at the exterior hood. That usually points at the duct, not the dryer. Flexible foil behind a dryer pushed tight to the wall crushes flat. Cleaning a crushed duct changes nothing.

Short exterior-wall runs off garage and service-porch dryers in postwar tracts are often 4 to 10 feet. Those get rebuilt in rigid metal without much drama. Long vertical runs in three-story rebuilds and townhomes are another job (20 to 35 feet with two or three elbows), ending at roof jacks or high side walls. Screened caps trap lint there. The screen comes off and a damper hood goes on. Birds and nesting in unscreened wall caps mean the cap gets replaced too.

Joints point downstream and get foil tape and clamps. No sheet metal screws inside the duct; screw tips snag lint and start the next clog. Marine-layer air keeps lint damp, so it packs instead of blowing clear.

Access drives the work more than parts do. Roof terminations, second-floor laundry, and stacked condo closets with no clearance behind the units take longer than a garage wall.

Most homes here need clearing yearly. Sooner if beach towels run daily.