Sweep & inspection
Caps & crowns
Flue relining
Masonry repair
Gas fireplace serviceLevel 1 sweep and inspection to the NFPA 211 annual standard - flue, crown, cap, and flashing checked and photographed
Chimney sweep logs do not sweep chimneys. They loosen some creosote - which then falls where a brush and vacuum still have to collect it.
Fast, Reliable Dryer Vent Cleaning Across San Marino
Dryer vent cleaning in San Marino typically costs between $129 and $229 for a standard single-family estate, with the real variable being how your vent exits. If the laundry sits in an original 1920s service wing, the run is longer, harder to reach, and more likely to have a decade of lint packed into a clay-tile chase than a modern suburban build. We know San Marino’s 91108 and 91118 estates well because the vent problems here are specific to the architecture, not generic lint buildup. Call (866) 520-4943 and a Firebrick technician who actually works on these older homes will give you a straight answer before we ever send a truck.
Why Firebrick Chimney Sweep Is San Marino’s Preferred Dryer Vent Cleaning Company
Most dryer vent companies show up, run a shop vac through the duct, and hand you an invoice. We do not work that way in San Marino. The estates off St. Albans, Lombardy, and around Lacy Park were built before dryer vents existed as a standardized system, which means the vent termination, the chase, and the interior path all require real inspection, not a quick pass. Our technicians on these jobs understand historic masonry and original clay-tile utility chases, and that depth is what separates a thorough cleaning from a surface-level one.
We are a chimney and ventilation specialist, not a franchise operator. The same people who inspect and repair 1920s fireplaces in San Marino handle dryer vents with the same standard: we trace the entire run, find the obstruction, clear it properly, and tell you plainly whether the vent itself is up to the job. Nelson Quijada leads the shop, and the crew under him knows that a Period Revival home on a lot off Oak Knoll Avenue demands different handling than a 1990s tract house. We take that seriously.
San Marino homeowners typically call us after a home inspector flags the vent, after an insurance carrier asks about dryer exhaust, or after a dryer starts taking two cycles to dry a load that used to take one. We respond quickly to 91108 and 91118 because we know the houses and we know what we are looking for before we arrive. You will not spend the first hour of a visit watching someone get oriented. You will get an assessment from someone who has already worked on this kind of house.
Styles & brands we work with
Our Dryer Vent Cleaning Services in San Marino
Dryer Vent Cleaning
We clean the entire run from the appliance to the exterior hood using a rotary brush sized for your actual duct, not whatever is mounted on the truck. On San Marino homes where the vent passes through an original clay-tile thimble behind the stucco, a standard flexible brush will not do the job. We use a stiffer rotary head that breaks loose the compacted lint these hidden chases collect. The result is full airflow restored, not just a cleared section near the dryer.
Dryer Vent Inspection
A visual inspection without camera confirmation is only half an inspection. We run a camera through the vent from hood to appliance and show you what is actually in there on the report we send. On older San Marino estates, this is where we find what the previous company missed: crushed foil transitions, lint caked behind a screen that was painted over during a stucco repair, or a vent that was never properly connected to the masonry thimble in the first place. If we recommend additional work, the camera photos are your proof.
Dryer Vent Hood and Termination Repair
This is one of the more common calls we get across San Marino. A historic stucco or exterior paint job covered the vent hood, sealed the flapper, or left the termination nonfunctional. We correct the hood, remove obstructing screens, and repair the termination so the vent exhausts properly without disturbing the surrounding masonry. When the hood is beyond repair, we replace it with a professional-grade termination that functions and sits cleanly against the original wall surface. We do not leave a generic plastic hood sticking out of a 1920s stucco facade.
Dryer Vent Rerouting
Some San Marino laundry rooms cannot be fixed by cleaning alone because the vent run itself is too long, too indirect, or was cut through a structural member at some point in the past eighty years. We evaluate the existing run and discuss whether a reroute is practical for your specific home. We are realistic about this: on some older estates, the only viable path is the current one, and we will tell you that rather than sell you a reroute that creates problems. When a reroute makes sense, we do it with smooth-wall rigid duct, not flexible foil, and we keep the terminations clean and code-minded.
Trusted Brands We Service in San Marino
We stock and work with professional-grade materials rather than whatever the hardware store has on the shelf. On San Marino projects, that means using brands like DuraFlex, Famco, and Olympia Chimney rooftops and terminations for dryer vent work. The distinction matters. A big-box foil connector kinks, tears, and creates the exact lint trap we are there to remove. The parts we use are designed for actual exhaust duty, and we keep a working inventory on the truck so a San Marino repair does not wait a week on a parts order. When we replace a transition or hood, it is with a component meant to last, not a cheap substitute.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterCommon Dryer Vent Cleaning Problems We See in San Marino Homes
- Lint packed into original clay-tile chases: The vent passes through a 1920s-era clay thimble hidden behind decorative masonry, and standard cleaning tools barely reach it. We open the run and clear it from hood to appliance.
- Painted-shut or screened-over vent hoods: A historic stucco repair or exterior repaint sealed the termination, or a screen intended to stop birds became a lint dam. The dryer still pushes air, but not enough, and the heat backs up into the wall cavity.
- Overlong runs through service wings: Many San Marino laundries sit in a rear service wing with a vent that runs forty or fifty feet before reaching exterior. That exceeds what modern codes would allow and means the dryer runs hotter than it should even when the duct is clean.
- Shared utility chases confusing the diagnosis: A homeowner burning wood in the firebox all winter may notice poor drafting and assume the chimney is the issue, when the real culprit is a clogged dryer vent sharing the same chase. We check both because we work on both.
Pricing for Dryer Vent Cleaning in San Marino, CA
A standard dryer vent cleaning in San Marino runs $129 to $229 for most homes where the vent exits within a normal distance of the laundry. Longer runs through service wings or vents terminating through historic masonry walls typically land in the $199 to $299 range because the access is more involved. If the hood needs replacement or a crushed transition must be repaired, expect to add $40 to $120 depending on the specific termination and the material of the existing wall. If you need a full inspection with camera report, add $49 to $79. These are honest ranges for San Marino’s housing stock, not generic national averages. Call (866) 520-4943 and we will quote your exact vent before any work begins. Estimates are free.
We Also Serve Cities Near San Marino
Firebrick Chimney Sweep works throughout the San Gabriel Valley beyond Dryer Vent Cleaning in San Marino. We regularly serve San Gabriel, East San Gabriel, Alhambra, and East Pasadena. The housing stock changes from block to block in these communities, but the vent problems follow the same pattern: older construction, long runs, and terminations that have not been touched in decades. Same service, same standard, same phone number.
Serving San Marino, CA — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the San Marino 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 San Marino
Every 12 months at minimum, and more often if the vent runs long or the exterior hood sits behind a screen. The combination of distance, age, and original clay-tile chases means lint accumulates faster and packs harder than in a modern laundry. A 1920s service wing vent is not a “clean every three years” situation. Call (866) 520-4943 and we will check the run length and tell you the right interval for your specific vent, for free.
Yes. We clean from the exterior hood back to the appliance whenever the termination allows, and we work carefully around original stucco and decorative masonry. The rotary brush enters through the hood, so we do not need to cut into the wall or remove masonry. If the hood itself is painted shut or damaged, we repair it in place rather than replacing the surrounding material. San Marino’s design review culture means we assume the exterior is historically sensitive and treat it that way without being asked.
It can, indirectly. A wood stove changes the whole combustion and ventilation picture inside the house, and the creosote-and-lint mixture can clog a shared utility chase or create draft confusion that masks a dryer vent problem as a chimney issue. If you burn wood all winter and your dryer has started taking two cycles to dry, the vent is the first thing to check. We work on both systems, so we will find the actual problem rather than treating the symptom. Call (866) 520-4943 to schedule a combined inspection if you want the full picture.
Most long, indirect runs in 1920s service wings do not meet current code because modern standards limit total developed length based on the number of elbows and the dryer’s rated capacity. That does not mean the house is unsafe, but it does mean the vent needs more frequent, more aggressive cleaning and possibly a booster fan. We will measure the run, count the turns, and tell you exactly where you stand. Then we will clean it with tools that reach the full distance, not just the first ten feet.
Usually yes. We remove the paint from the flapper and the edges, free the mechanism, and restore the hood to function without replacing it. If the hood is damaged beyond repair, we install a professional-grade replacement that matches the surrounding material as closely as practical. Either way, you get a working termination and a vent that exhausts properly, without a jarring modern part on an original facade.
Written by Nelson Quijada, Owner at Firebrick Chimney Sweep, serving San Marino and the San Gabriel Valley.