Whole-system duct and dryer vent check with before-and-after photos - you see exactly what came out of your vents
That "$99 whole-house special" is a bait ad - the real number appears once they are in your hallway, or the "clean" is a shop-vac at the register. We photograph the inside of your ducts before and after instead.
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AfterFast, Reliable Dryer Vent Cleaning Across Melrose
Dryer vent cleaning in Melrose typically costs $160 – $260 for a standard single-dryer system, takes about 60 – 90 minutes, and is usually scheduled within a few business days. That’s the honest range you’ll see from us, in writing, before we touch a single duct. Melrose is an old streetcar suburb where most housing stock predates 1950, and dryers got retrofitted into basements and first-floor back kitchens decades after the houses went up. That means vent runs here are unusually long and elbow-heavy, often snaking up through a wall to a roof or side-wall cap rather than punching straight out a band joist. Lint accumulation in Melrose is a duct-run problem, not a trap problem, and we treat it that way. Call (737) 727-2314 for a free estimate and we’ll walk you through exactly what your run looks like before you decide anything.
Why Cardinal Air Duct Cleaning Is Melrose’s Preferred Dryer Vent Cleaning Company
We’re part of the Relay Home Co. family, founded in 2005, and our Dryer Vent Cleaning team runs professional-grade equipment: Rotobrush rotary brush systems, Nikro HEPA-filtered negative-pressure vacuums, and Guardsman vent brushes. But the thing Melrose homeowners actually notice first is that we hand you a written price before work starts and it does not change at the door. No per-vent pricing, no add-ons once we’re inside. Omar Haddad leads our crew, and the technicians who arrive at your door are background-checked, uniformed, and introduced by name before they ring the bell. Melrose residents consistently tell us the same three things: the price was clear, the tech knew old houses, and the before-and-after photos proved the work actually happened. That last part matters in this trade.
We coordinate dispatch and scheduling from our Boston office, with crews serving Melrose locally throughout the week. Most Melrose appointments get booked within 2 – 3 business days, and every job includes a live trackable arrival window so you’re not stuck waiting through a four-hour guess.
Dryer Vent Cleaning Company in Melrose
A dryer vent cleaning company in Melrose has to understand what these pre-1950 retrofits actually look like, and that’s the standard we work to on every job. A proper cleaning here means pulling the dryer out, disconnecting the run at the machine, running a rotary brush the full length of the duct, simultaneously pulling negative pressure with a Nikro HEPA vacuum so loosened lint goes into the machine instead of blowing back into your laundry room, and then running a camera through to document what was blocked and what’s now clear. For most Melrose single-dryer homes, that job runs $160 – $260. When the run is longer, roof-terminated, or packed solid from years of neglect, the number goes up. You’ll know the exact price in writing before we start, and it won’t change.
Lint-Packed Long Runs
Melrose basements are notorious for this. A dryer vent that makes four or five elbows climbing from the basement through an interior wall to a roof cap accumulates lint at every turn, and by the time airflow drops, the problem is usually concentrated at the interior elbows, not the exterior cap. Our techs camera every run first so we clean the whole duct, not just the last six feet.
Crushed Flex and Soffit Hides
The finished-soffit problem is common across Melrose Highlands and the neighborhoods off Franklin Street. Homeowners finished basements decades ago and boxed in a cheap 4-inch flexible duct, which collapses or sags behind the drywall. We find it with the camera, show you the footage, and if a repair or reroute is needed, you get a written quote before any cutting happens.
Dryer Vent Inspection in Melrose
A dryer vent inspection in Melrose costs $90 – $130 as a standalone service and is often all a home needs when the run is short, rigid, and straight. The inspection is a camera pull through the full duct length; you see the inside of your own vent on our screen as we go, and we tell you if there’s a fire-risk build-up, a crushed section, a bird nest, a disconnected joint, or nothing worth cleaning at all. Some Melrose houses genuinely have a straight four-foot run through a band joist, and if that’s yours and it’s clear, we’ll tell you to keep your money. That happens more often than you’d expect, and saying so is part of the job.
When a Seller Needs Proof
Melrose sees steady pre-sale inspection requests, often on the late-1800s Victorians near Bellevue Avenue and the Colonials up by Mount Hood. Buyers and inspectors want documented proof the dryer exhaust is sound. Our inspection gives you that written report and the footage to back it.
After a Dryer Replacement
New dryers push less air than people assume, and an old vent that barely worked for the previous machine fails completely with a new one. Before you blame the appliance, a camera inspection tells you whether the duct is the real problem, and in Melrose’s long-run basements, it usually is.
Trusted Brands We Service in Melrose
We service and clean vents on every major dryer brand you’ll find in Melrose homes, including LG, Samsung, Whirlpool, Maytag, GE, and Electrolux. What matters more is the gear we bring to the job: Rotobrush rotary brush systems for mechanical agitation, Nikro HEPA-filtered vacuums for negative-pressure extraction, and Guardsman vent brushes for tight elbows and long runs. We keep common vent caps, rigid pipe sections, and bird guards on the truck, so most Melrose repair-and-clean jobs finish in a single visit. Omar Haddad’s team stocks the parts that actually fit old New England retrofits, not just the new-construction catalog.
Common Dryer Vent Cleaning Problems We See in Melrose Homes
- Long, elbow-heavy retrofit runs: Dryers added to pre-1950 basements and back kitchens often vent through multiple 90-degree turns up to a roof or side-wall cap. Lint packs at every elbow, and airflow dies long before the exterior cap shows any visible blockage.
- Crushed flex behind finished soffits: Finished basements off Melrose Highlands streets routinely hide crushed 4-inch flexible duct behind drywall. Our camera finds it, and we show you the footage before we propose a fix.
- Roof-terminated vents with no cap screen: Side-street homes with roof runs often lose their caps to New England weather. Birds get in, build nests, and the run becomes a lint-and-twig plug that no amount of trap cleaning will solve.
- Outside-only “cleaning” that misses the real blockage: A contractor runs a short snake in from the exterior cap, clears the last few feet, and calls it done. The crushed flex and lint pack at the interior elbow behind a Melrose basement soffit never gets touched. That’s the most common reason second-opinion calls come to us.
Pricing for Dryer Vent Cleaning in Melrose, MA
For a standard single-dryer vent in a Melrose home, the cleaning runs $160 – $260. A standalone camera inspection runs $90 – $130. Longer roof-terminated runs, heavily packed lint, crushed-section repairs, and bird guard or cap replacement can push the total higher, but you will always get a written price before any work starts. We charge one flat price per system, never per vent. That means no “Additional $40 per vent” line item and no phone estimate that balloons once the tech is standing in your laundry room. The price on the written quote is the price on the invoice. Call (737) 727-2314 and we’ll give you an exact figure for your run, free.
We Also Serve Cities Near Melrose
Beyond Dryer Vent Cleaning in Melrose, our crews work across the immediate area, including Malden, Stoneham, Saugus, and Wakefield. The same written-price standard and the same equipment goes everywhere we work. If you’re in a neighboring town and dealing with a long basement run or a dryer that’s taking two cycles per load, give us a call.
Serving Melrose, MA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Melrose area and know this community well, and we also offer Melrose HVAC Cleaning for full-system care. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs About Dryer Vent Cleaning in Melrose
For most Melrose homes, every 12 to 18 months is honest. A long basement run with multiple elbows needs more frequent attention than a short straight run through a band joist, and if your drying times have crept up or the dryer feels hot to the touch, the answer is now, not on the calendar. Call (737) 727-2314 and we’ll help you figure out where your run falls.
Because in Melrose’s retrofit housing, the blockage is almost never at the outside cap. It’s at the interior elbows where a long run turns, often behind a finished soffit. An outside-only clean clears the last few feet and leaves the actual fire risk untouched. A full cleaning starts at the dryer and goes the whole length.
No. The trap catches the bulky surface lint. What builds up in the duct itself is finer, denser, and packed tight by heat and moisture, and that’s the material that restricts airflow, raises dryer temperatures, and fuels vent fires. If your trap can’t keep up with what your dryer is producing, the duct is carrying the load.
Neither. We charge one flat price per system, and you get that number in writing before we start. No per-vent pricing, no per-foot meter running, no surprise when the tech finds your run terminates on the roof instead of the side wall. The quote we hand you is the price you pay.
Yes, before and after. Every job includes camera footage of your duct before we clean it and after we’re done, plus photos of what we pulled out of the run. You see your own vent, not a stock photo. Call (737) 727-2314 for a free estimate and we’ll show you exactly what’s in there.
Written by Omar Haddad, Owner at Cardinal Air Duct Cleaning, serving Melrose with flat-rate pricing and the Relay Visibility Guarantee.