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September 6, 2023

Ensuring the Longevity of Your Dryer Duct System: Maintenance Cleaning vs. Restorative Cleaning

Regular cleaning is essential for maintaining the safety and efficiency of a home’s dryer system. Dryer duct cleaning is extremely important since this critical maintenance task prevents potential problems such as fire and water damage.

Despite what most people think, the most common damage resulting from improperly maintained dryer ducts is moisture damage, not fire. This is because, when a blockage occurs condensation forms and collects within the pipe. Over time, this moisture can find its way into the structure causing thousands of dollars of damage to the building.

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January 6, 2019

Ventilation Cleaning Strata Properties – Push Vs Pull – Water Damage ?

Trouble Shooting Water Damage In Dryer Vents

The biggest misconception behind dryer vent cleaning is actually the reason why most people think its necessary. Its not because of the fire risk: they are exceedingly rare occurrences, and usually occur due to the lint trap in the dryer itself not being properly cleaned. Rather, the real risk emerges from blocked vents that condense moisture from the dryer. This, over time, pools, and can cause thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars in damage. The trick, if it can be called that, is early diagnosis of the problem. The first signs of a blockage may seem relatively benign: excessive humidity and steaming in the residence as the air “blows back” from the vent. Clothes may take longer to dry. 

Once condensation occurs and the water starts to pool, the next step is to observe direct signs of damage. Frequently the water find a seam in the vent, which allows it to spill out into the surrounding area. Within the affected region, this will quickly look like any other water leak, including discolouration of the affected material. 

If any of these signs seem familiar to you, let us know… we’ll look at the situation together and determine the best course of action.

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January 26, 2017

Slab Ducts – Dark Side Of Dryer Vent Cleaning

Over the course of the past 25 years, we’ve seen a lot of changes to buildings, IMG_8958their construction and designs. Dryer vents are no exception. The image most people have of dryer vents are round three to four inches in diameter circular metal pipe with a flap on the end. While this is a common (if not the most common) design, especially for low-rise buildings, there are a number of different configurations that are employed.

In a previous E-tips we highlighted that the greatest source of potential damage from uncleaned dryer vents is not fire, but moisture. As the air from the dryer becomes trapped, it condenses the moisture, which collects into pools and starts to wreak untold damage. They permeate into the surrounding concrete, and damage the overall structure. Such leaks tend to spread down to ceiling areas, leaving unsightly watermarks.

This is somewhat more common issue than people realize, particularly in high-rise buildings. Many use a rectangular shaped vent, which is sunk into cement prior to curing. While there is nothing particularly wrong with this design, the issue is with implementation. Often the duct runs are constructed with too many corners, quickly diminish the airflow’s strength. More alarmingly, many are only an inch in depth, which is insufficient to ensure proper air passage. Finally, many are damaged during construction, causing an obstruction that prevents air from passing altogether. We’ve seen all of these issues, and they can be extremely problematic.

Remedial work is often an expensive, and messy proposition. Repairing the concrete ductworkvents, if it is even an option, can run into the tens of thousands of dollars. The alternative is to build a new duct run with a drop down ceiling. While less costly than concrete reconstruction, it can be aesthetically ugly and diminish a unit’s value.

While in some cases such work is unavoidable, there are alternatives to deal with these issues. Booster fans can be installed to provide extra airflow to overcome any existing issue. A proper exterior housing that provides no impedance to exiting air can help. In addition, preventative work can do quite a bit to ensure proper airflow. This includes regular cleanings of the system, with particular care for problem units. While this may require a few additional minutes of attention, it can avoid a far more costly repair job.

If you have a problem unit like this, give us a call. We can inspect the system and determine whether alternative approaches can ensure proper function, or major remedial work is required.

January 29, 2015

Central Air Duct Cleaning “History Of Sick Building Syndrome”

(Strata buildings are notorious for not cleaning their central air supply ducts, take an inventory of your buildings and ask yourself when was the last time they were cleaned? In most cases they have never been cleaned.)

Today, having access to a home with adequate heating/cooling is not just seen as a modern convenience, but as a basic human right, on par with food, water, sanitation, etc. Many residents, before the onset of winter, tend to invest in companies (such as Romeo’s Fuel, for example) and get oil deliveries stocked up for their boiler, furnaces, or water heaters. However, what they fail to understand is, that if proper care and attention to the appliances are not provided, it can quickly become a source of illness for the residents living inside.

The first heated air type of central air heaters emerged in early 19th century Great Britain, which ironically was used to heat up hospitals. The inventors discovered that patients healed quicker when they remained warm and comfortable (surprising, I know). Soon they have installed mills, and then personal residences.

These systems were supplanted by the ubiquitous hot water/radiator system, but they shared a key limitation of only providing heat during the winter months. Residents had little recourse during the hot summer months. By the 1950s however true climate control systems started to appear. Forced air systems were paired with air conditioners and heaters to provide year-round assistance.

However, the central air systems are not trouble-free or without risk. This was made apparent in the 1970s with the oil shocks. In order to save energy, many apartment and office buildings iStock_000019880307Largewith central air systems were sealed off on the outside, and heating and ventilation was recycled within the building. This created the rise of “sick building syndrome, where poor air quality contributed to a number of illnesses.

While central system design improved dramatically in the 1980s and 90s, risks still remain. Over time central air venting will accumulate dust, organic materials, and other harmful items, that are then released into the system. living creatures, like bacteria, mold, and dust mites can actually grow inside the system, which is then distributed around a building. For this reason, many companies might want to search for companies similar to DUCTZ of DFW North, or ones in their local area, who can come and clean the air ducts, which might help reduce issues. These particulates can irritate people with allergies or asthma. It is also not a health issue. The Ducting’s efficiency drops as more and more dust and debris fill its interiors. This increases energy costs and decreases the system’s lifespan, as more energy is needed for longer in order to provide the desired temperature.

July 16, 2012

Dryer Vent Cleaning – One Easy Change Can Fix A Lot Of Issues

Dryer Vents. They can be a fire hazard, they can cause water to leak into the ceiling creating thousands of dollars in damage; they can be a real maintenance issue. If one of your buildings is having repeated issues with their vents, our quick tip of the day may help solve the problem:

Look at the physical vent cover at the outside point of the dryer duct. What do you see? If the wrong type of vent cover is installed – change them. This can prevent a lot of issues developing over time.

We are finding that there is one style of a dryer vent that outperforms all other choices. When speaking to a local manufacturer, they told us builders often place orders for vents without acknowledging that the dryer vent cover ought to be different from other vents. So, we often find problems that occur when the wrong style of vent gets installed. These vents get clogged quite easily by a build-up of lint and ultimately cause a reduction or stoppage of airflow, which further damages the machine. This is when you’ll need to call a dryer vent cleaning service professional to handle it before the issue gets out of hand.

Why would a builder put on the wrong kind of vent? Ignorance. Cost savings (buying all the same style in bulk might save them money). A mix up with construction subtrades. The reason could be any or all of the above. Whatever the cause, we are seeing this issue a lot in the GVRD. Vent covers are put on backwards, the wrong style of cover is put on, etc.

As a business owner, periodically looking for dryer vent cleaning franchise opportunities could be a prudent choice that you would be contributing to your business space. So, what should you look for? What is the correct style?

The best dryer vent cover is one that has a simple flap. It opens when hot air forces it to when the dryer is turned on. When the dryer is off, those flaps close.

We’ll call this “Style A”.

The gaps between the flaps offer enough room for the air to carry lint out. These are the best type of vent cover to have.

“Style B”

Vent covers with flaps and plastic mesh over top are not properly designed to be used for dryer vents! Those that are marketed and sold as dryer vent covers are doing the public a disservice. The plastic mesh grid clogs up with lint, and then the flaps underneath cannot open. Also, the professional tooling used to clean dryer vents in the majority of cases cannot fit into the tiny holes of the grid.

We spoke to a local vent manufacturer. They explained that the dryer vent covers that they make have a flap but no plastic mesh grid. Those with grids can be used for bathroom fans and other purposes. They related when they sell vent covers for dryers, if they run out of the style that have flaps but no mesh, they cut the mesh off dryer vents that have both, turning vents of Style B, into Style A.

“Style C” pic.

Those vent covers with very thin gaps are not designed for dryer vents. They easily clog when the slightest amount of lint builds up behind them. We have replaced this type of cover with proper vent covers on several buildings and find this significantly improves the effectiveness of the dryer, of the cleaning services, and reduces issues in the building – which can save thousands in damages when you consider moisture build up in the ceiling or fires caused by these clogged airways.

The other issue with these thin vent covers is that they’re often put on backwards, forcing the lint filled air onto a window below. So, not only is the vent cover not doing its job properly, it is also making the windows dirtier.

Good air flow is the key component with dryer venting. Restricting the ability of air to flow out with a tiny mesh screen at the very end which easily clogs with lint: bad idea.

The proper dryer vent cover should work ideally in 99% of cases. The other styles cause issues almost all the time.

Here is a video of one of our technicians and what he found on a site. You’ll see him clip the screen off, allowing the bent to ‘breathe’, and function as it should in future.

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So if one of your stratas is struggling with dryer vent cleaning issues, take a look at what they have installed at the exit point of the dryer vent duct, and determine if that is a major contributing cause. If so, replace the dryer vent covers. You’ll save a lot of money in the long run.