Dryer Vent Cleaning in Wellesley

Lint is fuel, and the run behind an old house is longer than you think

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4.9 · 75 Wellesley reviews

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CSIA certified

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Inspection fee credited toward repairs

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Price confirmed before work

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Pricing, before you commit

Our prices are published, not hidden

Want to know the cost before anyone visits your Wellesley home? Our dryer vent cleaning pricing page lists every option and shows the price for your vent. No email, no callback.

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The craft, done properly
DRYER VENT CLEANING IN WELLESLEY, MA

Dryer vent cleaning is priced by the run and its condition: a standard one-story run is the base price, a long run or a roof exit costs more, and heavy buildup or a bird nest more again — every option is on our dryer vent pricing page. The service covers full lint removal from the appliance all the way to the exterior cap, an airflow test before and after, a check of the exterior cap, and reconnection of the vent to the machine.

Lint is not dust. It is fine, dry, combustible material accumulating inside a duct that gets hot every time the machine runs, and a restricted vent makes the dryer work longer and hotter to do the same job. Blocked vents are one of the more common causes of house fires that start in a laundry room.

The length of the run is what makes this a Wellesley conversation rather than a generic one. In a pre-war house the laundry is often in the basement with the duct running the length of the house to reach an outside wall, or up through the structure to a roof exit. In the teardown rebuilds the laundry is usually upstairs, which shortens the run but adds bends. Both are on our dryer vent service page.

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The Work

A long run is the thing that changes everything.

Every foot of duct and every bend gives lint somewhere to settle. A short straight run out through a wall stays clear for a long time. A run that travels thirty feet through a basement and turns three corners collects material steadily no matter how careful you are with the filter, because the filter never catches all of it.

The airflow test is what makes the visit measurable rather than reassuring. We read the flow before and after, so the difference is a number rather than an opinion. If the exterior cap is damaged or has been taken over by nesting material, that gets flagged and quoted on the spot — a flap that no longer opens undoes the cleaning within a season. The same crew handles the chimney sweep and can check the cap on the flue while the ladder is already up.

The same crews cover this service from Burlington and across the Massachusetts area. Everything available here is listed on the Wellesley page.

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When to book

Signs a Wellesley dryer vent needs cleaning.

This one announces itself through the machine rather than through the duct, which is why it usually gets blamed on the dryer.

01

Clothes take more than one cycle to dry

02

The dryer or the laundry room feels unusually hot during a cycle

03

A burning or scorched smell while the machine runs

04

Lint visible around the outside vent or the dryer door

05

The exterior vent flap does not open when the dryer is on

06

It has been more than 12 months since the last cleaning

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The first one is the one people live with for years. A dryer that needs two cycles is not tired — it is working against a restricted duct, and it is using twice the electricity to do it.

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A chimney isn't clean because it looks clean. It's clean when the flue shows bare masonry — and we photograph it to prove it.

Brown Chimney
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The Brown Chimney Standard · Wellesley

Your Wellesley crew, based on Grove Street.

Grove Street, not Boston
Our office sits on Grove St, a few minutes from Wellesley Square. The Square, the Hills, and the Farms are each a short drive from the door — nobody is routing a truck out from the city to reach you.
4.9 from 75 Wellesley reviews
Rated across the town's villages — Wellesley Square, Wellesley Hills, the Farms, and out toward Cliff Estates and Babson Park.
One street, two centuries
A third of Wellesley predates 1939, and much of what looks new was built on a torn-down lot. A hundred-year-old flue and a factory-built firebox can sit two doors apart. Both are ordinary work here.
Price confirmed before we start
The price is confirmed with you before any work begins. Anything extra we find is shown to you with photos and needs your approval first.

Dryer vent check

Is your dryer vent a fire risk?

Lint is the leading cause of dryer fires, and most of it builds up where you cannot see it: inside the duct, at the bends and at the outside vent. Answer four questions to see where yours is likely to collect, what a cleaning visit covers, and what you can check yourself. Nothing is submitted.

ATTICLAUNDRY ROOMOUTSIDEYOUR VENT NOWLONG WALL RUNDRYERVENT
  • ShowingYour vent now. Long wall run, heavy lint where it usually collects.
  • KeyPeach: hot, moist air leaving the dryer, slowed by lint. Pale clumps: lint.

What are you noticing?

Where does the vent come out?

When was it last professionally cleaned?

Anything else you have seen?

Book a cleaning soon

Slow drying points to a restricted vent

When lint narrows the duct, hot, moist air cannot get out fast enough: loads take longer, the dryer runs hotter, and more lint settles. The CPSC lists damp clothes and longer drying times as signs that the lint screen or exhaust duct is blocked.

  • AirflowRestrictedYour drying signs point to lint narrowing the duct or the outlet.
  • The runLong wall runLint settles along the run and at every bend, which is why codes limit how long a dryer duct can be. Clearing it takes more passes.
  • Likely cleaning typeLong run or roof exitA long run is its own cleaning type, separate from a standard one-story run.

What the cleaning visit covers

  • Lint removed from the dryer connection all the way to the outside vent.
  • Airflow checked before and after.
  • The outside vent checked.
  • If the duct is crushed, damaged or disconnected, that repair is quoted separately before any extra work.

Check it yourself

  • Clean the lint filter before or after every load.
  • With the dryer running, check that air comes out and the flap opens. Keep the vent clear of snow, leaves and debris.
  • Keep the area around the dryer clear of things that can burn.
  • Turn the dryer off when you leave home or go to bed.

A guide, not a diagnosis. The technician confirms the run, the buildup and the outside vent on site, and the price is confirmed with you before work begins. If you see smoke or flames, leave the house and call 911.

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What to expect

What happens during a Wellesley dryer vent visit.

A visit runs under an hour on a standard run and longer where the duct is long or the exit is on the roof. The technician needs access to the machine and to the exterior vent, so we ask which floor the laundry is on when you book — in the older houses here it is usually the basement, and that changes the equipment brought to the door.

01

Airflow test — before

The run is measured at the exterior cap before anything is touched. This number is your baseline — and your proof at the end.

02

Disconnect & access

The dryer is pulled, the transition hose disconnected, and both ends of the duct opened for full-run access.

03

Rotary brush cleaning

Brushes sized to the duct work the entire run from both directions, with vacuum extraction capturing lint as it breaks loose — including the bends where clogs hide.

04

Cap inspection & clearing

The exterior cap is cleared and checked — a crushed or screen-blocked cap chokes airflow as badly as lint does.

05

Reconnect & airflow test — after

The vent is properly reconnected and the airflow measured again. Before-and-after numbers are shown to you: the restriction is gone, and you can see it.

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For transparency

What dryer vent cleaning does not cover.

Appliance repair. We clean and reconnect the vent and test the airflow; a dryer with a failing heating element or motor needs an appliance technician.

Vent cap replacement. Where the exterior cap is damaged or the flap has failed, it is quoted on site as its own line rather than assumed into the cleaning.

Rerouting or rebuilding the duct. A run that is too long, crushed, or built from the wrong material is a different job and is quoted separately after we have seen it.

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FAQs

Common questions about dryer vent cleaning in Wellesley

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How often should this be done?

Once a year for a normal household, and more often if the run is long or you dry heavily. The interval is really about the length and shape of the duct rather than the calendar — a thirty-foot basement run with bends fills faster than a short wall exit.
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Our laundry is in the basement and the vent runs the length of the house. Does that cost more?

It can. Long runs and roof exits are priced above a standard one-story run, because the work takes longer and needs different equipment. Long basement runs are the norm in the pre-war houses here, so it is worth mentioning when you book.
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Why do our clothes take two cycles to dry?

Almost always a restricted vent. The machine cannot push moist air out fast enough, so the cycle finishes with the clothes still damp. That is also the state in which a dryer runs hottest, which is the part that matters.
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Do you check the outside vent as well?

Yes — the cleaning runs from the appliance all the way to the exterior cap, and the cap itself gets inspected. A flap that no longer opens, or one that has been taken over by nesting material, undoes the cleaning quickly.
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Can you do this on the same visit as the chimney?

Usually, and it is worth asking when you book. Both services need a technician in the house and often on the roof, so combining them saves a second appointment.
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A safer hearth — for 2026

Quoted in writing. Then the work.

Every Brown Chimney dryer vent cleaning in Wellesley is confirmed in price before work begins, with an airflow test before and after. Call 781-547-7784 or book online.