Dryer vent cleaning cost calculator

Dryer vent cleaning is usually a flat price per vent, set by where the vent leaves the house. A vent that comes out a ground-floor wall is a short ladder-free job. A vent on a second-floor wall needs a ladder, and one on the roof needs roof access and more time.

We read the cost guides from Fixr, Bob Vila and Thumbtack, checked every figure on the page, and combined them. Fixr and Bob Vila both price by location, so for each location the low is the average of their lows, the high is the average of their highs, and the typical price is the average of their midpoints.

The roof price is Fixr's alone; Bob Vila gives only an average for roof vents, $130, which sits below Fixr's range. Both guides put the overall national range near $100 to $200, and Fixr's average is $150. Thumbtack's data runs higher, $186 to $510 with $307 typical, because its jobs include more add-ons and longer runs.

The flat price assumes a normal run and a normal amount of lint. Fixr says $80 covers a duct of 15 ft or less at the low end, and a tech clears about 15 ft an hour. That works out to $6 to $11 for each foot past the first 15, which is what the calculator adds for longer runs.

What the tech finds inside matters more than the length. Fixr and Bob Vila agree on these prices, which include the cleaning:

The calculator takes the higher of the normal cleaning price and the problem price, so a long second-floor run with a nest is not counted twice. Wet lint usually means the duct sags or slopes the wrong way and water collects at the low point, or the outside flap is stuck. It comes back unless the duct is fixed.

These are the add-ons dryer vent companies offer. Fixr and Bob Vila give the same or close ranges for each, so we average them.

A bird guard is worth it on any vent that has had a nest, and on roof vents in general. Rerouting is the fix for a run that is too long, crushed behind the dryer, or full of bends. A shorter, straighter run dries clothes faster and needs cleaning less often.

If the duct behind the dryer is white plastic or thin foil accordion hose, replace it with rigid or semi-rigid metal. Plastic and thin foil sag and trap lint more than metal does. That is a small part, but many cleaners will swap it on the visit.

A family's dryer sits in a second-floor laundry room. The vent runs 22 ft through the wall to the outside. Clothes take two cycles to dry. They want it cleaned and a bird guard put on the cap.

• Second-floor vent. $117.50 / $155 / $192.50.
• Run past 15 ft. 7 ft at $6 / $8.50 / $11 a foot: $42 / $59.50 / $77. Running total $159.50 / $214.50 / $269.50.
• Heavy buildup. Bob Vila's $120 / $185 / $250 is lower than the running total, so the total stands.
• Bird guard. $30 / $65 / $100.
• Total. $190 to $370, with $280 as the typical price at the US average.

Fixr puts labor at about 83% of a dryer vent cleaning, so where construction wages run above the national median the price goes up with them. Enter a ZIP in the calculator to see it for your state.

Lint is fuel. Every load leaves a little in the duct, past the lint screen, and over time it narrows the duct until hot air cannot get out. The dryer runs hotter and longer, and the lint can catch fire. Fixr reports about 2,900 home clothes dryer fires a year in the US, with an estimated five deaths, 100 injuries and $35 million in property loss.

Signs the vent needs cleaning:

• Clothes take more than one cycle to dry.
• The dryer or the laundry room gets hot, or you smell something burning.
• Lint collects around the outside flap, or the flap does not open when the dryer runs.
• It has been more than a year since the last cleaning.

Thumbtack suggests a cleaning once or twice a year, and Fixr says at least once a year. Bob Vila recommends twice a year for large households that run the dryer often. Clean the lint screen every load in between, and never run a dryer with the screen out.

A short, straight vent on a ground-floor wall is a fair do-it-yourself job. Fixr puts a dryer vent cleaning kit at about $20 to $70, and Bob Vila at $15 to $50. A kit is a set of flexible rods with a brush on the end that you spin with a drill, working from the dryer end and then from the outside cap.

• Unplug first. Unplug the dryer, and for a gas dryer turn off the gas valve before pulling it out from the wall. Do not kink or crush the gas line.
• Work in both directions. Brush from inside and from outside, then vacuum the lint out of the dryer's lint trap housing too.
• Check the duct itself. Fixr notes foil and plastic duct are harder to clean, and that rigid duct is the most efficient. If yours is a crushed foil accordion behind the dryer, replacing it is a cheap upgrade.
• Check the cap. The flap on the outside should open freely when the dryer runs and close when it stops.

Hire it out when the vent runs to the roof or a second-floor wall, when the run is long or has several turns, when you find a nest, or when lint is wet or packed hard. Those are exactly the jobs the guides price higher, because they take ladders, longer rods, a strong vacuum and more time. Thumbtack's national range for a professional cleaning is $186 to $510, which reflects how many of those harder jobs there are.

Whoever does it, a dryer that suddenly takes two cycles to dry a load, clothes that come out hot and damp, a burning smell or a laundry room that feels hot are all signs to stop using the dryer and clean the vent before the next load.

If you clean dryer vents, the ranges above are what your customers see before they call. Your price should come from your own numbers.

• Set a single-vent minimum. The drive, the ladder and the setup are the same for one vent as for three. Most of the money is in the second and third vent on the same stop.
• Price by access. Ground, second floor and roof are three different jobs. A roof vent may need fall protection and two people.
• Charge for length and problems as lines. Extra feet, wet lint, nests and reroutes each get their own line, so the customer sees why the price moved.
• Bundle it. Dryer vents pair well with air duct cleaning, where HomeAdvisor and Bob Vila put the add-on near $100, and with a yearly maintenance plan for rental owners and property managers.
• Add margin on top of your costs. Our profit margin calculator shows the price that hits the margin you want.

The "Save as an estimate" button above carries the vent, the extra feet and the add-ons into a Koira estimate. You can send it from Koira for the customer to approve and pay on their phone.