Fast, Reliable Dryer Vent Cleaning Across Detroit
Dryer vent cleaning in Detroit typically costs between $150 and $325 for a standard single-family home, with most jobs completed in one visit. We’re Bellows Air Duct & Vent Co., and we’ve been sending our Dryer Vent Cleaning crews to Detroit since 1984. If your dryer’s running hot, taking two cycles, or you smell something burning, that’s not a machine getting old - it’s a vent that’s choked with lint, and in Detroit’s pre-war housing stock, the problem is usually worse than it looks.
We answer our phones live, 24 hours a day. Call (844) 685-6342 for a free estimate. Most Detroit appointments are available within 48 hours, and we carry rigid metal duct, bird guards, and replacement caps on every truck so we’re not making a second trip.
Why Bellows Air Duct & Vent Co. Is Detroit’s Preferred Dryer Vent Cleaning Company
We’ve worked Detroit long enough to know the difference between a routine lint pull and a full reroute job. The bungalows in 48208, the two-family flats in 48209, the Colonials in 48205 - we’ve cleaned vents in all of them, and we’ve learned that “standard service” means something different here than it does in Warren or Sterling Heights.
Our technicians are background-checked, uniformed, and trained on Detroit’s specific failure modes: crushed flex duct behind renovated walls, octopus-furnace-era basements with vent runs that dead-end into dirt crawlspaces, and lake-effect humidity that turns lint into a moldy brick. Every job gets a camera inspection before and after, and our 90-Day Done Right Promise means if it’s not right, we come back - no paperwork, no arguing.
Calls are answered by a live person, not a voicemail tree. That’s been our way for over 42 years.
Our Dryer Vent Cleaning Services in Detroit
Dryer Vent Inspection
We start every Detroit job with a camera inspection of the full vent path - from the back of your dryer to the exterior cap. In neighborhoods like 48210 and 48211, we’ve learned to expect the unexpected: disconnected runs hidden behind finished basement walls, vents that terminate in attics or crawlspaces instead of outdoors, and flexible foil duct that was “good enough” for a 1980s renovation but fails our pull test every time. The inspection takes 15-20 minutes, and we’ll show you what we see on screen before we quote any work.
Vent Cleaning and Lint Removal
Detroit’s heavy humidity from Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River doesn’t just make summers sticky - it makes lint clump. We’ve pulled out material so dense and mold-compacted that a standard blower won’t touch it. For these jobs, we use a Rotobrush system with a rotating cable and whipping brush that scrapes the duct wall clean, followed by negative-air extraction with Nikro equipment. The result is a smooth-walled metal duct with full airflow, verified by camera before we pack up.
Vent Rerouting
This is where Detroit’s housing stock really shows its age. Many pre-WWII homes had dryers that vented directly into the basement or attic, and subsequent renovations often left those runs disconnected, crushed behind new drywall, or routed through structural members they shouldn’t touch. We reroute with smooth-walled rigid metal duct, properly supported, to an exterior termination that meets current code. A typical reroute in Detroit runs $275-$450 depending on linear feet and access.
Bird Guard Installation and Vent Cap Replacement
Detroit’s vacancy crisis left thousands of homes open to wildlife for years. We regularly find exterior vents stuffed with squirrel nesting, missing caps entirely, or covered with rags by previous occupants trying to block drafts. We install Guardsman bird guards and code-compliant vent caps with backdraft dampers - not the cheap flappers that freeze shut in January. Every cap is sized to your duct diameter and sealed with proper exterior caulk.
What happens when you call
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A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Detroit
We carry professional-grade equipment from Rotobrush, Nikro, and Abatement Technologies - the same brands serious HVAC contractors specify when they’re working on commercial systems. For Detroit homeowners, this means we’re not improvising with hardware-store attachments. Our Rotobrush cables handle the tight turns common in bungalow basements, and our Nikro negative-air units pull heavy contamination out of long vertical runs in two-family flats. We stock replacement caps and bird guards for every common duct size, so most Detroit jobs finish in a single visit without waiting on parts.
Common Dryer Vent Cleaning Problems We See in Detroit Homes
- Lake-effect humidity compacts lint into moldy masses. Detroit’s regional humidity is elevated by the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair, and that moisture binds lint into dense, mold-colonized blocks that standard shop-vac attachments can’t dislodge. We see this in 48208 and 48209 basements every winter - the vent looks clear from the outside, but the first six feet inside are solid.
- Vacancy-era damage blocks or severs vent paths. Homes that sat empty for 5-10 years after 2008 frequently have vent runs cut by squatters, stuffed with debris by wildlife, or crushed during hasty renovation. We responded to a 1920s Colonial on 48205’s Whittaker Street where the dryer was taking over two hours per load. When we removed the old aluminum vent, we found it packed with nesting material and collapsed where it passed through a renovated bathroom wall. We installed a new smooth-walled rigid duct with a Rotobrush cleaning and a bird guard on the exterior cap - the homeowner reported the drying time cut to 35 minutes.
- Retrofitted laundry rooms use dangerous flex duct. Many Detroit bungalows had washers and dryers added to basement corners decades after construction, with vent runs cobbled together from flexible plastic foil that sags between joists and collects lint in the low spots. This material is a fire hazard and doesn’t meet current code. We replace it with rigid metal as part of standard service.
- Original vents terminate indoors or were never properly routed outdoors. In pre-WWII construction, “venting” often meant blowing hot, moist air into the basement or through a hole in the attic floor. Subsequent owners finished those spaces without correcting the path. We find this regularly in 48210 and 48211 - a “dryer vent” that has no exterior termination at all.
Pricing for Dryer Vent Cleaning in Detroit, MI
A standard dryer vent cleaning in Detroit runs $150-$225 for a single-family home with accessible exterior termination and intact rigid duct. Homes requiring vent rerouting, cap replacement, or bird guard installation typically fall in the $275-$325 range. Full reroutes through finished walls or with multiple story runs can reach $450.
What moves the number: length of run, number of turns, whether we need to cut access in drywall, and whether the existing duct is salvageable or must be fully replaced. We disclose the full price before we lift a single tool - the number on the phone is the number on the invoice.
We also offer a permanent 5% Senior and Veteran discount, and our $89 Seasonal Tune-Up includes a vent airflow check if you’re already having us out for HVAC service. Call (844) 685-6342 for a free estimate - we’ll ask a few questions about your home’s age and layout and give you a real range, not a bait price.
We Also Serve Cities Near Detroit
Our Dryer Vent Cleaning in Detroit crews also cover Dearborn, Lincoln Park, Warren, and Madison Heights. Each area has its own housing stock and its own typical problems - Warren’s mid-century ranches face different vent configurations than Detroit’s pre-war flats - and we adjust our approach accordingly. Same live-answer phones, same camera verification, same 90-Day Done Right Promise.
Serving Detroit, MI - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Detroit area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs - Dryer Vent Cleaning in Detroit
The blockage is almost always in the vent duct behind the wall, not the screen. In Detroit’s older homes, we find collapsed flex duct, lint packed solid by humidity, or vents that were partially disconnected during renovation and are dumping half the airflow into your basement. Call (844) 685-6342 - we’ll camera-inspect the full run and show you exactly where the problem is.
Yes, we clean roof-terminated vents regularly in Detroit’s two-family flats and Colonials where the original routing went straight up through the attic. We use extension poles and, when necessary, roof access with proper safety equipment. Roof-term vent cleaning runs $200-$275 due to the additional time and setup. We’ll tell you before we book whether your roof pitch and access are workable for our equipment.
Absolutely, and we’d strongly recommend a full camera inspection, not just a cleaning. In 48205 and surrounding ZIPs, we’ve opened vents to find squirrel nesting, collapsed duct from vacancy-era damage, and even rags stuffed into exterior caps by previous occupants. The Whittaker Street job we mentioned earlier was a foreclosure purchase - the new owner had no idea the vent was destroyed behind a renovated bathroom wall. We found it, fixed it, and documented everything on camera.
Run your dryer on air fluff and check two things: is hot air coming out of the exterior cap, and is the cap actually venting outdoors (not into an attic, crawlspace, or neighboring unit)? In Detroit’s two-family flats, we’ve found shared ductwork, terminations into common hallways, and vents that simply dead-end above a dropped ceiling. If you’re not certain, we can verify the full path with our camera - it’s a 15-minute inspection that could prevent a fire.
Yes, and with gas dryers, a blocked vent is more than a fire hazard - it’s a carbon monoxide risk if exhaust gases back up into the living space. We inspect gas dryer vents with the same camera protocol, and we verify proper draft and exterior termination before we sign off. If your gas dryer is showing any signs of incomplete combustion (sooty residue, a yellow flame instead of blue, or headaches when the dryer runs), stop using it and call us immediately.
Ready to get your dryer vent sorted? Call Bellows Air Duct & Vent Co. at (844) 685-6342 for a free estimate. We’ll answer live, ask the right questions about your Detroit home, and give you an honest price before we schedule. Most jobs are done in a single visit, and every one is backed by our 90-Day Done Right Promise - in writing, no arguing, the way we’ve done it for over 42 years.
Written by Ray Castillo, Owner at Bellows Air Duct & Vent Co., serving Detroit since 1984.