Roof Dryer Vent Cleaning in San Antonio, TX

Why does my upstairs dryer need two cycles to dry a load?

Usually the roof cap, not the machine. Newer two-story subdivision homes here push the duct up a wall chase and across the attic. Twenty to thirty-five feet is common. Two or more elbows. Air slows at every turn, and lint drops where air slows. The last few feet below the cap take the worst of it.

Roof terminations also collect what the duct never made. Bird and wasp screens behind the flap are not supposed to be there on a dryer vent, but they show up constantly. Cedar and oak pollen add to it. So does caliche dust off nearby construction, along with nesting material. During January cold fronts the attic run sweats inside, and damp lint packs instead of blowing free.

The work gets done from both ends. Rotary brush on flexible rods from the roof down, with vacuum capture at the dryer connection. Then a reverse pass. Pushing lint only from the laundry side packs it tighter against the cap.

Check it yourself from the driveway. Run the dryer and watch the flap. It should swing open and stay open. Still, sagging duct between attic joists forms bellies that refill fast, and crushed flex behind a pedestal washer will not clean. Those get re-supported or replaced, not brushed.

Roof pitch and height matter. Fall protection drives the labor more than duct length does.